Date	Event
Sat 3^rd Jan	Yorkshire Cross Country Championships, Nunroyd, Guiseley. Women 6k 1.30 pm. (Team at least 3) Men 11k 2.10pm. (Team at least 6). Idle submitted men’s and women’s teams. See below for results.
Sun 11^th Jan 04	3^rd WYWL Cross country from Esholt hosted by St.Bede’s.
Sun 18^th Jan 04	Woodkirk 10k, Leeds.
Sat 24^th Jan 04	North of England Cross Country Championships. (St. Helens) Idle to submit and men’s and women’s teams. See Chris for details.
Sun 25^th Jan 04	Brass Monkey Half marathon, York. Club attendance points race for 2004. Entries closed.
Sun 1^st Feb 04	Dewsbury 10k, 9.30am. C/D 17^th Jan, no entries on day.
Sun 1^st Feb 04	Roundhay Romp 10k and 5k , 11am. Traffic free.
Sun 8^th Feb 04	4^th WYWL Cross country hosted by Pudsey Pacers, 11am.
Sun 15^th Feb 04	Liversedge Half marathon, 12 noon.
Sat 21^st Feb 04	National Cross Country Championships (Leeds). Idle to submit and men’s and women’s teams. See Chris for details.
Sun 22^nd Feb 04	Final WYWL Cross Country hosted by Skipton AC, 11am.
Sun 7^th March 04	Baildon Boundary Way. Off road half marathon. 10.30am.
Sat 13^th March 04	Dentdale 14. 1pm. Scenic road race. Free buffet.
Sun 14^th March 04	Spen 20. 10am. Hilly course but good marathon training.
Sun 21^st March 04	South Leeds Stadium 5k (10am) and 5 mile (11.15am).
Sun 21^st March 04	Stainland 7. 10am. Hilly course, free t-shirt.
Sun 21^st March 04	Doncaster Half, 10am.
Sun 27^th March 04	Meanwood Valley Trail race, 10.30am. Approx 7 ½ miles . Free bottle of beer to all finishers.
Sat 27^th March 04	Coniston 14, 11am. Scenic road race.
Sun 28^th March 04	Ackworth Half, 10.30am.

Attendance Scheme/ Club races – 2004 details:

Top twenty Club Races for 2004: Handicap/ Attendance Scheme - 8 out of 20 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 Club races for 2004, where points can be earned, are as follows:

Date	Race Details	Comments.
January- Sun 25^th	Brass Monkey Half marathon, 10am.
February - Sun 16^th	Liversedge Half Marathon, 12.00 noon.
March- Sun 7^th	Baildon Boundary Way Half, 10.30am. Get your entries in now.
March – Sun 14^th	Spen 20mile, 10am. Ideal for those planning to run a marathon in 2004.
April- Sun4^th	Wakefield 10k, 10am. Fast, flat course.
April – Sun 11^th	Guiseley Gallop 10k, 10.30am.
April- Tues 6^th	Bunny Run1, 3mile ‘Fell’ race, 7.00 pm.
May- Sun 9^th	Fountains Abbey 10mile. Part of Black sheep series.
May- Sun 16th	Leeds Half Marathon, 10am.
June – Thurs DNK	Bronte 5. Hilly two lap course.
May - Wed –5^th	John Carr 5k, Esholt, first race. Fast, flat course. Good local event.
June - Sun 20^th	Blackpool Half or Full Marathon, 9am. 2004 club race/weekend away.
July? – Sun DNK	Harrogate 10k.
Sept – Sun DNK	Kirkstall Abbey 10k.
Oct – Sun DNK	Horsforth 10k, 10am.
Oct- Sun DNK	Bridlington Half marathon
Oct – Sun 31^st	Roundhay Romp 10k.
Nov- Sun DNK	Guy Fawkes 10mile, 10.30am.
Oct/Nov – Sun DNK	Holmfirth 15mile.
Nov- Sun DNK	Abbey Dash 10k, 9.30am.

The 2003 Attendance Scheme proved to be a huge success with most members attending and racing on a regular basis. However the overall winner of the 2003 Attendance Scheme is Kay Gambles with 101 points, 2^nd is David Lewis with 99 points and in 3^rd place with 94 points is Jo Belcher. Chris Smith had 116 points but as Secretary is excluded from the prizes.

Isle of Man Marathon and Half 2004.

There has been a lot of interest in these races, which are run in Mid August 2004 following Peter Vickers’ success there last year. Pete is therefore recommending these races for a possible weekend away for club members. If there is enough interest we might be able to organise a weekend trip. Please let Pete know if anyone is interested in this idea so that initial details can be obtained.

Congratulations:

Congratulations go to Joe Marjoram and Kirstie following their wedding last month.

BlueBell Trail 10: New race for 2004:

Our friends at Stainland Lions have organised a new course for 2004… the Bluebell Trail 10, a multi terrain 10 mile race which is said to incorporate some of the most scenic views within the heart of Yorkshire. The race is held on Sunday 23^rd May at 10am from Heath Rugby Club, West Vale, Halifax and offers a quality T-shirt and goody bag to all finishers. Race entry forms are available at the club.

Race results:

Chevin Chase 7 mile trail race – Boxing Day.

We had 12 runners for this Boxing Day race, including Stephen Edwards who ran dressed as Zorro. The results were:

112^th Richard Raistrick -50.37, 119^th David Lewis- 51.04, 132^nd Steve Little-51.53, 140^th Peter Vickers-52.03, 159^th Chris Smith-52.51, 190^th Tony Blythe-54.06, 215^th Donna Edmondson-55.08, 253^rd Simon Bellwood-56.32, 294^th Peter Helliwell-57.55, 316^th Zorro-58.40, 482^nd Jo Belcher-1.04.10, 576^th Davina Smith-1.07.37.

Yorkshire County Cross Country Championships – 3^rd Jan, Guiseley. Women: 6K, Men: 12k

49 Donna Edmondson 27.28

65 Jo Belcher 29.44

72 Amnuay Scott 31.21

78 Davina Smith 33.43

80 Alison Garlick 35.10

131 Chris Booker 47.11

137 David Reddish 47.33

160 Dave Lewis 49.13

163 Chris Smith 49.45

169 Peter Vickers 50.32

173 Joe Marjoram 50.55

179 Richard Raistrick 52.00

181 Steve Little 52.10

188 Adrian Trevelyan 53.27

191 Edward East 54.26

193 Stephen Edwards 54.33

198 Trevor Hooley 56.30

We will be entering teams in the North of England Cross Country Championships at St. Helens on Saturday 24^th January and to the National cross country Championships on Saturday 21^st Feb. See Chris for details.

Fell Races: Jan-End March 04.

If you like the idea of fell running and would like to have a go please speak to Chris.

All fell races are given a grade indicating length and difficulty. Difficulty is indicated by:

A, no less than 250 feet climb per mile, not more than 20% on roads, at least 1 mile in length (NASTY);

B, not less than 125 feet climb per mile, not more than 30% on roads (FAIRLY NASTY);

C, not less than 100 feet of climb per mile, not more than 40% on roads and contain genuine fell terrain (NOT VERY NASTY) .

Length is indicated by: L, 12 miles or more; M, 6 miles and over but less than 12 miles; S, under 6 miles.

SUN.JAN 25. THE 21^st SOREEN ‘STANBURY SPLASH’. BM. 11.30 am. 7 miles/1200 feet from Penistone Hill Country Park, Haworth. £3 on day. All finishers receive a Sorren Maltloaf, free coffee and biscuits.

SAT FEB 7^th OGDEN MOORS FELL RACE. CM. 11.30 am. 6 miles/700’ from Ogden Reservoir, Causeway Foot, off A629 Halifax-Keighley Road. £3 on day. Website: www.ogdenwater.freeserve.co.uk

SAT FEB 14^th WADSWORTH HALF TROG. BM. 10 am. 9m/1500’ from the Old Town Cricket Club, Hebden Bridge. £5, closing date: 10^th Feb. No entries on day. Website: www.cvfr.co.uk

SUN FEB 29^th CLAY BANK EAST. BM. 10.30am. 6m/1000’ from Clay Bank carpark, near Stockesley, North Yorks. £4 on day. Website: www.middlesboroughathleticclub.org

SAT MARCH 13^th. IAN ROBERTS FELL RACE. BM. 2.30pm 7m from Marsden Cricket Club. £3 on day.

SAT MARCH 13^th. WUTHERING HIKE (Haworth Hobble). BL. 8am. 31m/4400’ from Westfield Lodge, Morrside Lane, Oxenhope. £16 teams of 2 or £9 solo. Refreshments on route., hot meal at finish, showers/changing. Website: www.keighleyandcraven.co.uk

SAT MARCH 20^th MIDGLEY MOOR FELL RACE. AS. 11am. 5m/1250’ from Booth Cricket Club, Booth, Halifax. £3 on day. Website: www.cvfr.co.uk

IMPORTANT NOTICE - FRA SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

With effect from 1st January 2003 Rule 9 in the FRA Safety requirements has changed.

" 9 - EQUIPMENT
Competitors should arrive at races prepared to carry any or all of the following equipment :-

Windproof whole body cover.

Other body cover appropriate for the weather conditions.

Map and compass suitable for navigating the course.

Whistle.

Emergency food (long races).

These requirements constitute 'best practice' and are mandatory at all Category A Long and Medium races.

In the event of settled fine weather, confirmed by a local weather report, the organiser may decide to waive some of the above requirements at Category A Short races.

Organisers must ensure that whatever requirements they specify on the day are met by holding complete or random checks before the start of the race and at the end of the race."

So, the Race Organiser no longer has the discretion to waive any of the equipment requirements above in long and medium races. Very short events like the Bunny Runs won’t really be affected, but for anything longer or more arduous bring your bum bag with all the kit, to be on the safe side.

Note: A full list of local fell races for 2004 is now available at the club or via the website. Chris also has a copy of the new FRA calendar.

New Members

This month we welcome 5 new members: Our 62^nd member is David Reddish. David is an old friend of the club who competed in the Yorkshire Cross country championships. Chris Booker who is our 63^rd member was the 1^st Idle runner home at the Yorkshire Cross country championships. Number 64 is Laurence Doddy, a local (animal)vet who is keen to run off road and who has experience of orienteering. We also welcome two new female members - Husna Rasheed, member 65 and Sharon Thomas, member 66, who are both relitively new to running. Both are members at Kents Gym and both aim to run a marathon.

Blackpool Marathon/Half: Idle AC Club race 2004

We hope to go mob handed to the Blackpool marathon and half marathon on Sunday 20^th June 2004 following the success of last year. Whilst it may seem a long way off, it would be good to know that we all had entries. This is as flat a course as you can get and is generally a well organised and supported race. As with last year we hope that many members will make a weekend of it - we have details of camping/ caravan sites and B & B accommodation (in Lytham/St Anne’s). The organiser of this event was so impressed with the support of Idle AC last year that we have been given £2 reduction on entries. Entry forms are available at the club, therefore please complete and give to Chris/Davina ASAP for us to enter as a block. The entries will be sent off at the end of January 04.

Black Sheep Brewery Race Series 2004.

Black Sheep Brewery Race Series is a series of 6 separate running events organised in towns & villages in scenic North Yorkshire. The objective is to complete 4 out of 6 races, 3x10k plus the half marathon or 10 mile race. Runners who complete 4 out of 6 are awarded a silver plaque, with a gold plaque presented to runners who complete all 6 races. In addition category winners are determined by points gained in each race, and are based on your 3 best 10k’s plus your best long race. Points are awarded to the first 10 in each age category. There is then a presentation later in the year (at the Brewary) with prizes and trophies awarded to the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd male and female, plus the first three in each age category. All races can be entered individually as well as part of the series. Entry forms available at the club but closing date (series) is 30^th April 04.

The races in the series are as follows:

Fountains 10mile: Saturday May 9^th, from the village of Grantley near Ripon. Melmerby 10k: Sunday 30^th May, from the village just off the A1 near Ripon. Kirkby Malzeard 10k: Saturday 5^th June, the village is between Ripon & Masham. Rainton 10k: Sunday 27^th June, the village is on the opposite side of the A1 to Melmerby. Burn Valley Half: Saturday July 3^rd, from the market town of Masham. Burton Leonard 10k: Sunday 25^th July, the village is between Harrogate & Ripon.

West Yorkshire Winter League – 3rd Race Sun 11^th January at Esholt.

We had 32 runners for the 3^rd WYWL event at St.Bede’s. After three events the team results are as follows:

Men		Vets

Pudsey	3924	Baildon	1395
LBT	3806	Pudsey	1371
Idle A C	3588	Stainland	1336
Stainland	3528	St.Bede's	1334
St.Bede's	3368	Dewsbury	1303
Baildon	3138	LBT	1189
Skipton	3124	Skipton	1176
Dewsbury	2926	Idle A C	1157
Women		Overall
Baildon	845	Pudsey	4744
Idle A C	844	Idle AC	4432
Dewsbury	838	Stainland	4330
Pudsey	820	LBT	4042
Stainland	802	Baildon	3983
St.Bede's	434	St.Bede's	3802
Skipton	332	Dewsbury	3764
LBT	236	Skipton	3456

On the day the women won and are now just one point behind Baildon as we enter the final two races. In the individual results Ian won the race for the third timeand was followed by Steve Bottomley who finished in second place. Ian is top in the individual men position and Donna is top in the women.

Each year two very special trophies are presented to individuals - these are for the most improved male and female runner who has completed all 5 events. The most improved male runner receives the Dave Turpin Memorial Trophy and the most improved female runner receives the Paul Dowson Memorial Trophy. Through these trophies we remember two well known league competitors who both died suddenly, indeed within days of each other, during the 1999 -2000 season. After the third event Kay Gambles heads the table for the Paul Dowson trophy with 13 points closely followed by Jo Belcher on 12 points. Edward East is in first place in the Dave Turpin memorial trophy.

The final two fixtures are as follows:

4 8^th Feb 03 hosted by Pudsey Pacers, 11am.

5 22^nd Feb 03 hosted by Skipton AC, 11am.

The presentation night will be held on Friday 19^th March at Idle Working Mens club starting at 7.30pm, proceeded by an ‘ Happy Hour’ in the Syposium at 6.30pm. Further details to follow.

Details of the 4^th WYWL Fixture at Pudsey.

The 4th WYWL race will be hosted by Pudsey Pacers on Sunday 8th Feb at 11am. The event will be held on a new course in the Post Hill area of Pudsey. Changing and shower facilities are available at Pudsey Leisure centre, approx 1 mile from the start. The leisure centre bar will be open on the day. The start is approx 10mins jog from the centre (all downhill) and 15 mins back (all uphill!). Chris will circulate further details to Idle AC members, including a course map.
.
Pudsey have advised people NOT to take cars to the start/finish but if you do have to DO NOT park on Hough Side/Pudsey Road. Wickes (DIY Store) carpark may be a better idea or on reaching the traffic lights at Wickes, park to the left on Hough Tree Road or to the right on Wood Lane (up the hill).

The start of the race is in a large open area at the bottom of Post Hill (steep cobbled hill) and the course will be 2 full laps and a part lap.

Please remove all muddy shoes before entering the Leisure centre.

Annual General Meeting – Thursday 22^nd April 04.

Idle AC’s second AGM will be held on Thursday 22nd April at 7.15pm at the Baptist chuch, Bradford Road, Idle. This is your big chance to air your views on the club’s present and future policy and activities. Please note that there will be no club training on this date. An agenda will be available to all members in early April and members are now invited to submit any agenda items to any committee member no later than 1^st April 2004. Members are also reminded that subs will be collected at the AGM when a membership form will need to be completed.

It would be appreciated if all subs could be paid by the beginning of May as the North of England subsriptions are due to be paid in May 2003.

Hepworth & Idle Cricket club fundrasing event.

As part of their fundraising for the new pavilion the cricket club are running a score forecast on the Rugby League World Club Challenge Match- Bradford Bulls V Penrith Panthers on 13^th Feb04. Score forecasts cost just 50p per guess and there’s a change of winning at least £50. Edward East will be going around collecting all your money, (closing date 9^th Feb). The more money we give the cricket club the sooner we ALL benefit from the facilities.

The cricket club is also hosting a Pig race night on Saturday 21^st Feb from 8pm.

What 2004 has to offer:

We achieved a huge amount in 2003 – our first full year as an affiliated club! We hope to build on our success and offer a great deal in 2004. We will continue to build up the club in terms of the numbers, the ethos, and in the support and enthusiasm that we can all provide to one another. We will continue to offer weekly coached seasons on Tuesdays offering hill and speed work. In addition we will be organising occasional trips to a local tartan track. Following the success of the Halloween hash we hope to organise a similar event this year or to possibily join a local hashing race.

We will continue with the Attendance and Handicap Scheme and Steve will again be offering the vets the delights of the Vets League plus other events. We will hold our second Annual General Meeting in April.

We will be putting teams in to run in the West Yorks Winter League Canal Relay - more details later but the venue is likley to change this year to be run along the canal near Skipton with the possibility of a night out afterwards!!. There may also be Open Mornings, Club Handicap races, local races, and ‘away’ weekend events such as Blackpool.

In addition to running events there will be ‘social’ events such as the WYWL Presentation evening on 19^th March at Idle Working Men’s club.

We will also be accepting invites to run with other local clubs such as Pudsey Pacers, Finally, we will, of course be competing in the West Yorkshire Winter League This is just a tiny number of things that Idle A C will be offering in 2004. If you want something done - see a committee member: Davina Smith, Martin Burnside, Chris Smith, Steve Little and Kay Gambles.

Monthly look into 2004

January- Men and womens team in the Yorkshire cross country Chamopinships. Continuation of the WYWL races with the 3^rd race at Esholt. Teams entered in the NoEAA Regional cross country at St.Helens. Runners at Brass Monkey Half.

February- Final two races (Pudsey and Skipton) in the WYWL. Teams entered at the National cross country at Temple Newsam. Runners at Liverdege Half.

March- Presentation evening of WYWL to be held at Idle WMC on 19^th March. Runners at Baildon Boundary Way Half (get your entries in as race limit may be reached). Runners at Meanwood Valley Trail race.

April- Martin, Simon, Peter H and Matthew Coles represent Idle in the London Marathon. Runners at Wakefield 10k (4^th), runners at Guisley Gallop 10k on 11^th April. Bunny Run fell races. 2^nd Annual General meeting.

May- John Carr 5k races at Esholt (Wednesdays). Start of the Black Sheep Series.

June- Blackpool marathon and Half, Club race for 2004.

July- Burn Valley Half marathon (Part of the Black Sheep Series)

Aug- Arncliffe Gala road and fell races - a good family day out.

September- Idle Tide: the first year Chris ran a marathon on a tredmill and last year we broke the mens world marathon by runniug in relay. What can we do in 2004??

October- Runners at Horsforth 10k.

November- Start of WYWL season. Guy Fawkes 10.

December- 3^rd annual Sewage works surprise Handicap race and Christmas party.

The Vets Bill

Since the last vets bill there haven’t been too many races involving our veterans. Back in November saw the Leeds Abbey Dash 10k involving ten of our vets, getting the Abbey habit were: Steve Little 41:20,Dave Lewis 42:42,Simon Bellwood 45:34,Pete Helliwell 48:22,Amnuay Scott 48:53,Davina Smith 54:15,Elaine Trevelyan 59:20,Janet Burnside 65:29,Martin Burnside 65:30 and Chris Marshall 67:23.

Boxing Day brought the festive fun of the Chevin Chase, a bracing 7m run designed to remove the maximum residue of Turkey, Christmas Pudding and Cream Sherry in the minimum amount of time. Here showing their resolve and a packet each of Setlers were: Dave Lewis 51:04, Steve Little 51:53,Tony Blythe 54:06,Simon Bellwood 56:32,Pete Helliwell 57:55 andDavina Smith 67:37.

Another “shock to the system race” was the Yorkshire Cross-Country Championships at Guiseley on the 3^rd January. Away first were the ladies with a nice 6k canter around Nunroyd Park, our leading vet Amnuay Scott finished in 72^nd place closely followed by Davina Smith in 78^th position.

Of the men’s race on a longer 11k route were Dave Lewis in 160^th place with Steve Little placed 181^st and Trevor Hooley placed 198^th.

Regarding the Yorkshire XC champs reminded me of something my mother instilled into me as a child, to always wear proper or sensible shoes. It was either the Clarks ones with the compass in the heel and the animal track soles to go to Cubs or Wellies for the wet and snow. I’ve always tried to carry that thought with me.

Excepting of course the Yorkshire XC race mentioned above. Here on a muddy, slippy, icy and waterlogged park course is not the place to experiment cross-country racing with road race minimal grip running shoes. To make matters worse I knew that a perfectly good pair of spiked shoes lay just inches away separated by the width of a Fiat hatchback.

However if Bambie had been wearing Walshes or Torvill & Dean had used spikes life wouldn’t be so entertaining would it? - Steve Little

From the Coach…

Conducting a Class Assembly with my 7 and 8 year olds at school on the subject of “success”, I made reference as I often do, to running. I asked them to decide who had been successful in the Yorkshire Cross Country Championships.

“What about the woman who came first,” I asked, “Was she successful?”

“Yes!” the class cried in unison.

“And the woman who came second?”

“No!” came the equally confident reply.

“And so the two women from my club who came seventy-eighth and eightieth, did they fail?”

“Yes!”

“The team were second to last. Did they succeed?”

“No!”

So there I had it. I had the evidence in the results anyway. No-one anywhere near the front. Our two men’s teams last and second to last. The women second to last. What had I been thinking of, entering new and inexperienced runners on such a stage? I myself had been lapped by the eventual winner, and there were only half a dozen runners behind Alison and Davina, in this prestigious showcase event for Yorkshire distance running.

“So what does the word ‘succeed’ mean?” I asked the class. “Does it mean to win?”

“No, it’s like when you finish something……and do it properly,” said Liam.

At playtime I saw a text message was on my phone. It was from our woman who’d come 80^th. I’d never had a text from her before. It read:

“Bought some Walshes. Oh dear – what am I letting myself in for?? – Ali G”

Now that’s what I call success.

Chris.