Sent: 10 January 2008 00:06
Subject: FW: VS Update - Subs, XC, AbbeyValley, Baildon, New Strider,
Leeds Half, GP Events, Canal, Ringway, 2007 Awards, Quiz Answers
The hot subject of the day is the Leeds Half
Marathon, but there are just a few short notices for you to read before I let
you know what’s going on.
Subs Reminder
Happy New Year 2008! But we are now over a
third of the way through the Striders year September 2007 to August 2008.
The good news is that 149 of you have paid your
membership fees, but the bad news is that 63 of you have not yet renewed your
membership.
If you’re not sure, check the website http://valleystriders.org.uk/reg2007.htm
. If it says ‘06’, you’re overdue so please send £12, payable to Valley
Striders, to
And if you’re not on the list at all, it means
you didn’t pay last year either, so please send £22 to
If you’ve sent payment in the last 7 days or
your cheque is in the post, please ignore this reminder!
Cross country this weekend (13 January)
Good luck to those running in the
If you’ve not entered this, then come along and
run the Sport Direct race at John Smeaton Sports Centre,
Registration is from 10:00 to 10:45, £2.50, race
starts at 11:00. As many as possible to run. It’s a flattish course
along the edges of fields and on bridleways, just under 5 miles. Wear
your shoes that give the best grip.
Even
Mark Hetherington and myself have agreed on a
scoring system where every runner will count. The more runners we
have, the better chance we have of winning the Abbey Valley Challenge
Cup. Of course, the faster our runners run and the more Abbeys we beat,
also the better chance we have of winning the cup.
You can enter online via
The race is only £8.50 which is a reasonable
price for a city centre 10k.
Grand Prix points at stake!
Even Paul Furness has promised to run!
My inside information is that this is over 80%
full and is likely to close in the next week, maybe sooner. So get your
entry form sent off if you’re wanting to run. Grand Prix points at stake!
New Strider
Congratulations to Zoe and Tom Ridgway. On
5 January Zoe gave birth to Charlotte Iona, 6lbs 4ozs. Mother and baby
are both home and well. Father was seen at the pie and peas night
presumably stocking up on carbs for some marathon night sessions.
Leeds Half
It was Zoe who, at the Winter Handicap (no, she
wasn’t running), let me know that she’d heard that the Leeds Half Marathon for
2008 had been cancelled.
She then received an email from the Sports
Development Unit
“Thank you for your enquiry.The Half Marathon will not be taking
place in 2008, as we will be supporting the Jane Tomlinson 10k Run for all that
will be taking place in June. We will be carrying out a consultation
exercise next year for the holding of the Leeds Half Marathon in future years.
If you needed any more information please don't hesitate to contact us.
Thanks.”
I posted this information on the Runners World
website at the weekend on the thread for last year’s half marathon hoping that
the 300 people who’d posted to it had set notify future posts and hoping for
some action!
This Monday I got a call from Paul Furness, he’d
been contacted by Debbie Leigh from the Yorkshire Evening Post, asking whether
he knew that the race had been cancelled and what his opinions were.
I rang Debbie back, passed on my comments, and
also suggested she should contact Abbey Runners (who help organize the event)
and Rothwell Harriers (Jane Tomlinson’s club).
The result is a feature in tonight’s Y.E.P. with
a picture of Paul Furness, sitting behind his desk, holding running shoes and
looking glum, because he can’t run the half marathon this year.
The full feature is on the Y.E.P. website http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/The-end-for-Leeds-half.3651273.jp
There is also a section in the Editorial column,
which I can’t find on the website, so I’ll type it for you here
“On Wrong Track”
“The Leeds Half
“Council bosses have axed the race after 22 years because they
apparently want to throw their weight behind Jane Tomlinson’s Run For
All. The baffling decision means disappointment for thousands of runners
– not to mention a loss of income for scores of worthy causes.”
“Jane’s 10k run is as fantastic event that is a fitting legacy for
the remarkable achievements of a truly wonderful woman. But then the
Leeds Half Marathon has a long track record of putting the city on the map.”
“We cannot believe that this is what Jane would have wanted to
happen. And we struggle to understand why in a city the size of
The Y.E.P. are asking for people to make their
views known. If you want to see what has been said already, go to http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/yourviews/Leeds-Half-Marathon-axed-YOUR.3656059.jp
If you want to add your own views, then look at
the full feature (see the previous link), click on the third paragraph, and it
will open a new email for you.
I think this is the best way to proceed for now,
so that everyone’s views are known to everyone else. Even if you just
want to say “I agree with xxxx”.
But you can also email the Sports Development
unit direct [email protected]
Finally, here’s the Forum on Runners World http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?UTN=99577&URN=6&dt=4&srchdte=0&cp=17&v=2&sp=
NB you need to be registered but you do not need to be a subscriber to the
magazine.
Now back to more mundane matters …
Grand Prix Races 2008
Here’s the authoritative list for the first half
of 2008
Sun 20 Jan - Brass Monkey half marathon ENTRIES
CLOSED
Sun 3 Feb - Dewsbury 10k (entry form http://www.dewsburyroadrunners.co.uk/Docs/10k2008.doc
)
Sun 17 Feb - 4th Peco Sport Direct Cross Country
at Danefield (Otley Chevin)
Sun 24 Feb - Snake Lane 10 mile ENTRIES CLOSED
Sun 9 Mar - 5th Peco Sport Direct Cross Country
at Thackley
Sun 16 Mar - Spen 20 (entry form on www.ukresults.net)
Sun 30 Mar -
Sun 6 Apr -
Sun 13 Apr -
Sun 20 Apr - Rothwell 10k (entry form on www.ukresults.net)
Tue 29?? Apr (date to be confirmed) -
STRIDERS CLUB HANDICAP 10k
Tue 6 May (date to be confirmed) - Jack Bloor
fell race
Wed 7/14/21 May - Esholt 5k series (entry
form on www.ukresults.net)
Sat 7 Jun (date to be confirmed) - Wharfedale
Off-Road Marathon
Wed 2 Jul / 6 Aug / 3 Sep (dates to be
confirmed) - Hyde Park 5k
Sun 13 Jul (date to be confirmed) - Eccup 10
Tue ?? Jul (date to be confirmed) -
STRIDERS CLUB HANDICAP 10k
Sun 27 Jul (date to be confirmed) - Round Hill
John Hallas 5 mile race (23 January)
I am organizing another 5 mile handicap race on
Wednesday 23rd January. The course will be the same one as before,
start from the
Please let me know if you are interested.
Handicaps will be based around the finishing times for the last handicap. Any
new entrants please provide an estimated 5 mile time. No prizes, no entry
fee, just potential glory and a good lunchtime workout on an accurate (5.02
miles), flat course
I hope to arrange a starter/timekeeper again but
if not then it will be self-managed (synchronizing watches before the start). I
know this is the Wednesday after the Brass Monkey HM but as there are a lot of
races in the next few months there will always be difficulties and I want to
see if we can get this to be a monthly event
John
Contact John [email protected]
if you want to run or want more info.
Well done to all of our teams. I believe
only 9 had run in this event before so thanks to all the newbies who had to
recce as well. The steak and ale pie at “The Mitre” was excellent as Dan
H, John and myself discovered.
8. Scooby Do’s 2:37:03 - Erica Hiorns, Mark
Hunter, Patrick Barrett, Greg Skerrett, Dan Murray
15. Valley Sliders 2:45:58 - Nat Crossland,
27. Rainbow Striders 2:58:20 - Helen Priest,
Neil Fairburn, David Cusack, Eric Cusack,
Other clubs represented were
Ripon Runners 2, 14, 16, 35
Abbey Runners 3, 34
Otley 4, 6, 12, 17
Wetherby Runners 7, 29
Chapel Allerton 11
Claro Orienteers 31, 33
Others 21, 32
Yorkshire cross-country champs Results
Mark Greaves was the only Strider to turn up,
finishing 131 out of 182
2007 Presentations
Marathon Trophy – Tracey Morris for her
world championship run at
Also Ran Trophy – Ian Sanderson,
overall runner-up in the Grand Prix, 18 races run, but no race prizes and no GP
T-shirt
Grand Prix
Champions – Steve Webb
and Carole Schofield
Vets Champions – M40
John Uttley, M50 Bob Jackson, W35 n/a
Group Champions – (B)
Dave Middlemas, (D) Simon Redshaw, (E) Mike Brown
Fell Championship – Steve Webb
Full History of all of
these trophies is on the website, look for the section “Club Championship”
Quiz Answers
In which year were Valley Striders founded? ..
1982
Where were Valley Striders founded? ..
Who is the fastest all time marathon runner for
Striders? .. Steve O’Callaghan (2:21)
How many Striders ever have been selected for
Which team were promoted to Premier Division of
Sport Direct League this year? .. women
How many age group trophies did we win in Sport
Direct League? .. 5
How many runners in the Summer Handicap Trail
Run? .. 50 (an all time record)
And was the number of runners in the Autumn
Handicap .. higher (54 another all time record)
What was Tracey’s time in the World
Championships at
And what position did she finish? .. 19th
What was the winning margin for the women’s team
in the :
Who were runners up? .. Horsforth
How many races did Striders organize or
co-organize in 2007? .. 5 (Meanwood, Y.Vets XC, Pulse Race, Harewood Cancer
Research, Harewood Trail)
How many Striders (men and women) have won
individual races in 2007? .. 5 (Tracey, Caz Farrow, Gary Shipley, Lisa Wilyman,
Vicky Whitehead)
How many Striders have qualified for Performance
Certificates in 2007? .. 20
How many women were in the top 3 Striders first
claim club marathon times this year? .. 3 (Tracey, Karen Natoli, Kirsten
Jackson)
How many in the top 3 Striders first claim club
marathon times in 2007 are English? .. 0 (one Welsh, two Australian)
How many new members joined in 2007? ..
59 (actually 60 because Maureen Coffey joined at the Xmas do)
How many Life Memberships were awarded this
year? .. 4
In which article in Wikipedia will you find
Valley Striders? .. Meanwood Trail footpath
Email Problems
Again I seem to have been having problems
sending some emails. In particular my work colleagues aren’t receiving
theirs. I’m going to regroup my distribution lists, but in the meantime
if anyone says to you that they haven’t received a Valley Striders Update for
some time, remind them that they can always be found on the website within a
day or two.