Sent: 08 February 2008 09:04

Sent: 08 February 2008 09:04
Subject: VS Update: Track, Peco XC, Wakefield, GP & Fell Championships, Dewsbury results and much more

Track – Tuesday 12 February

Training is at Leeds Met / Carnegie / Beckett Park (whatever you want to call it).

Meet in the foyer of the Indoor Sports Centre. We’ll be setting off for a warm-up jog at 7:10. Sometimes there is a queue to pay, so aim to arrive 7:00 at the latest (a bit earlier if you need to get changed).

We then get onto the track at 7:30. We’ll start with the usual 4 by 400 metres with a 40 second rest after the last runner crosses the line. But the other two sets may be something different.

Three Horse Shoes afterwards.

Cross Country – Sunday 17 February

Will be the fourth race in the PECO / Sport Direct Cross Country League. The race start is on Otley Chevin, at the Danefield Car Park on East Chevin Road. Registration between 10:00 and 10:45. Parking can be tricky, so arrive early, and fold in your wing mirrors. Drinks (but no food) afterwards at the Royalty Pub on Yorkgate.

It is important that we have a good team of men to maintain our quest for promotion, and even more important that we have a good team of women to save ourselves from relegation. Please come if you can, this is one of the least technical courses, and, despite being on the Chevin, generally runs along the contours rather than up and down.

Full details http://www.abbeyrunners.co.uk/PECO/Fellandale.html

And Grand Prix points are available here.

Cross Country Presentation Night will be on Friday 4^th April at the conservatory at The Faversham. No catering will be provided (so eat before you leave home), so there will be no charge for entry. However, the room has a maximum capacity of 140, so there will be a ticket entry system. Clubs need to decide how many tickets they want by the end of February at the latest, so please let me know if you are interested in going.

Wakefield 10k - Sunday 30 March

Did I mention that we the Abbey Valley Cup is being competed for at the Wakefield 10k? All runners count, so get your entry in as soon as possible. You can enter online at www.ukresults.net

And Grand Prix points are available here, too.

New members

January was quiet, but 4 new members joined on Tuesday night – Christine Bradbourne, Lucy Carey, Aine Rice and Ron Williams. We also welcome back Chris Leggatt who was previously a Strider member from 1983 to 1996.

Previous VS Update

Had a very strange title because I obviously did a Ctrl&V (paste) in the wrong place. It should just have read “Vicky’s victory”. I put it down to the flu. From which I am nearly recovered, and thank you to everyone who sent me good wishes.

Lasagne and Pie and Peas

The lasagne was excellent wasn’t it? We voted to alternate between pie & peas and lasagne so for March we’ll be back to pie and peas.

Tony and I have discussed prices and we have agreed that he should charge £1.50 for the apple pie, which I think you will admit, is still very good value for money. Pie and peas will remain at £2.50, but lasagne in April will be £3.00.

Could I ask everyone to book in advance if possible, and, if you haven’t booked in advance, then be at the back of the queue for the meal. Someone ate my apple pie on Tuesday. I was not pleased!

Leeds Half Marathon

Will definitely be on 7 September. And another of Striders favourite events, the Leeds Country Way Relay, is likely to be on 31 August. Book those dates in your diaries now! Last year we had about 35 in the Leeds Half and four teams of 12 for the Country Way.

Grand Prix and Fell Championship

Paul, Alan and myself apologise about some confusion about the events in March for the Grand Prix.

We have a principle that Grand Prix events should not clash with any event where Striders are competing as a team.

We have the fifth Sport Direct cross country on 9 March (and we have made this a G.P. event), consequently East Hull 20 is not in the G.P.

We need a 20 mile event in the G.P., consequently on 16 March, Spen 20 is in the G.P. and Ackworth Half is not.

For a full diary of G.P. events see http://valleystriders.org.uk/striders.htm#GrandPrix

We now also have a full diary of Fell Championship events see http://valleystriders.org.uk/vsfc08c.htm

Dewsbury 10k Results

18 Striders scored Grand Prix points. The stars were the women’s team of Vicky, Liz and Carmel who finished in 2nd place, just behind Leeds City. (The men were 19th of 51 clubs)

61 Vicky Whitehead 0:36:46

75 Dan Harman 0:37:27

126 Tim Towler 0:39:20

157 Patrick Barrett 0:40:03

170 Jeremy Ladyman 0:40:28

186 Liz Wood 0:40:58

189 Eric Green 0:41:00

201 Greg Skerrett 0:41:16

293 Jonathan Brownbill 0:43:09

417 Carmel Barker 0:43:43

334 Erica Hiorns 0:43:59

376 Mark Hunter 0:45:00

427 Sandra Sutton 0:45:57

469 Xanthe Hannah 0:46:56

659 Chloe Hudson 0:50:51

785 Carole Towler 0:54:15

1049 Anne McCaffrey 1:04:53

1078 Becky Scurr 1:09:17

Rombald’s Stride

I don’t have results yet, but I do know that Caz was second lady. Here’s the report from the Ilkley Gazette:

http://www.ilkleygazette.co.uk/sport/sportlatest/display.var.2026459.0.sally_is_first_lady_in_rombalds_stride.php

Race Report: The 25th Soreen Stanbury Splash (Fell Race) 7mile/1200ft – 27 January

Gale force wind and an awful lot of Soreen was on offer up on Penistone Hill near Haworth for the Stanbury Splash Fell race.

I'm not completely sure why it is called the 'Splash', probably something to do with the 3 river crossings involved. It was a great event and included junior fell races before the senior one, details of further similar events are at: www.woodentops.org.uk

Ian Holmes (Bingley) won comfortably again in 44:30. He's won this event every year since 1996.

Striders results:

- Junior race - Ronan Loftus 31st in 8:49 (71 finishers)

- Senior race - Mick Loftus 47th in 54:45 (281 finishers)

No other Striders...

Brass Monkey – further results

Sharon Tansley emailed to say that she had been missed off our Brass Monkey results because in the results they didn't put her down as a Strider. She ran 1:46:30, only her 2nd ever half marathon and a PB by 6 minutes.

Eran Gal-Or recorded a PB by 7 minutes. His next race is the Dead Sea Half Marathon, which apparently is even flatter than the Brass Monkey!

Confused by the range of shoes available?

I found a good website http://www.shoeguide.co.uk/ It may not immediately point you at the very best shoes for you but it will certainly tell you whether a pair you’ve seen advertised is suitable for you.

Let me know what you think!

You know you're a real runner when:

You eat energy bars when you don't have to.
You can find a place to pee anywhere, any time.
You've had the same unopened packet of frozen peas in your freezer for the last two years.
Your running shoes are the first thing you pack for your summer holiday.
When walking in a crowd, you make a conscious effort to catch and pass the person in front of you.
The staff at your local specialist running shop greet you by name when you walk in.
Your osteopath sends you Christmas cards.
Every time you climb a flight of stairs, you put your fingers to your wrist to check your heart rate - then go back and do it again.
You can't remember your mother's birthday, but you can rattle off your last five 10K times, including the seconds - and you know they're faster than hers.
When you read this list, you think, "Is this supposed to be funny?"

(thanks to Paul Sanderson for contributing that)