Sent: 28 February 2008 23:37
Subject: VS Update - Training sessions, lunchtime 5 mile, Peco XC, Wakefield and Rothwell 10k, Photos, Results and more

 

Déjà vu

 

You may get a sense of déjà vu reading some of the first few paragraphs, but they are slightly different from last week, and the rest of this VS Update is definitely different!

 

Up and Running special sale

 

Tony (the bar) Firth texted me and Carole Schofield emailed me to say there is currently 30% off everything at Up & Running in the center of Leeds.  I’ve no idea how long it’s on for, but certainly if you work in Leeds it’s got to be worth a lunchtime visit.

 

Training / Pie and peas / Lucozade

 

Some notes about the next three weeks

 

4 March – 3 by 10 mins at High Ashes, followed by pie and peas (£2.50) and optional apple pie (£1.50).  Please book, selecting meat pie or veg pie, mushy peas or baked beans, whether you want apple pie – with cream or ice cream.  Email before Sunday 2 March 10pm or text 0777 5898 558 before Monday 3 March 2pm.  If you don’t book, you aren’t guaranteed a meal!

 

11 March – track is closed, so 5 by 6 mins at High Ashes. 

 

The Lucozade session is still provisional but I have already had 12 Striders emailing their interest so we hope it will go ahead.  Will confirm (one way or the other) next week.

 

The arrangement will be that they arrive before our training session and weigh a number of runners, and then weigh them again after the session, they would then demonstrate about dehydration etc.  They would also give a general training talk for about 30/40 mins with a Q&A session after and provide some Lucozade free samples. They are all full qualified specialists and not there just to push Lucozade products.  We need to give them rough numbers so please let me know on or before next Tuesday if you are likely to come. Full details in the next email.   (Thanks to Patrick Barrett for setting this up)

 

18 March – track session at Beckett Park / Leeds Met / Carnegie.  Geoff and Sylvia are away, we need a timekeeper please (full instruction will be given)

 

John Hallas lunchtime 5 mile, Wednesday 5 March

 

John emailed me

 

I am organizing another 5 mile handicap race on Wednesday 5th March. The course will be the same one as before, start from the Whitehall Road Bridge, out 2.5 miles (to a marked bridge) and return. The start time for an estimated 35 minute time will be 12:20 again

 

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).

 

Please contact John Hallas [email protected]  before Wednesday if you want to run.

 

PECO Sport Direct Race 5, Sunday 9 March

 

Note that the final race is 9 March at Thackley (go to the Olive Tree roundabout, turn on the A657 towards Shipley and it’s only 2 miles along there).

 

http://www.abbeyrunners.co.uk/PECO/peco.html  for full details

 

Peco Presentation Night

 

I have 12 tickets for the presentation night on Friday 4 April at the Faversham near the University.  If you want to go along and collect your trophy or cheer the Striders who are collecting their trophies or jeer the Abbey Runners, let me know and I will save ticket(s) for you.

 

Entering Races

 

Please note that our club name is just “Valley Striders”, not “Valley Striders Leeds” nor “Meanwood Valley Striders” or any other combination.  If you enter with the wrong club name, the chances are that you will not be included in the team calculations.  And before anyone gets clever, please do not enter as “Just Valley Striders”.  Note to the two who entered Rothwell 10k with the wrong club name, I contacted John Schofield and the evidence has been overwritten.

 

Wakefield 10k – 30 March (Abbey Valley challenge)

 

Please enter as soon as possible.  You can enter online at www.ukresults.net, it only costs £1 extra and it will save two postage stamps and an envelope. 

 

Andy Thorpe has also been excused as he too is in Annapurna, but that leaves 130 UK based Striders still to enter.

 

We are planning a big group photo (Abbey and Valley) in the Stadium at Thornes Park at 09:30, the race starts at 10:00 so this will leave plenty of time for the ¾ mile jog to the start.

 

And afterwards the suggestion is a picnic in Yorkshire Sculpture park (can you take beer in?) or to book a room in a pub in Wakefield.  Your comments please!

 

Rothwell 10k – 20 April

 

Last week there were 60 places.  Now they’ve added another 100 places, and yet again there are now about 60 places left  (I said we’d have déjà vu). 

 

Grand Prix points are available at this race, so if you want some, I recommend that you get your entry in this weekend at the very latest.  You can enter online at www.ukresults.net and there is no extra charge for this

 

Photos on the website

 

There are now 48 new pictures from the Danefield Cross Country on the website, thanks to a friend of Paul Hunter.

 

I’ve updated the page of individual photos and there are now pictures of 147 Striders in alphabetical order of surname. 

 

If you aren’t on this page, or the picture that’s there doesn’t show your best side, then email me a pic (about 1Mb is ideal) and I’ll update the page.

 

Blackpool (North West) half marathon

 

Carmel was the only Strider, running 1:34:56.  This was a high quality field, she was “only” 24th woman, and 5th W45, but she did have the satisfaction of beating the 3rd W40

 

Snake Lane 10

 

Only 5 Striders claiming Grand Prix points

 

 94 Dan Murray       1:05:00

127 Eric Green       1:06:43

158 Howard Jeffrey   1:08:12 2nd claim

430 Mike Brown       1:23:08

593 Max Jones        1:39:21 2nd claim

 

The Grand Prix points table has been updated on the website and Dan Murray’s 100 here puts him in the lead, closely followed by Patrick, Eric, Jonathan and John Wallace.  But it’s early days yet.

 

Next GP races are Cross country at Thackley, Spen 20, Wakefield 10k, Baildon Boundary Way (full), London Marathon (full) and Rothwell 10k (nearly full)

 

Presentations

 

We will be presenting some Performance Certificates at the pie and peas night next Tuesday.  Some Striders got their 5th result in late last year and we haven’t presented the certificate yet.  Others managed 3 or 4 graded performances last year and these have been carried forward to this year where fast courses (and fast runs) at Brass Monkey and/or Dewsbury have meant they have achieved their 5 graded performances early this year.

 

For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, have a look at the website  “Performance Awards Scheme” or come along next Tuesday and Hutch or myself will explain (NB thanks to Paul Hunter for maintaining the spreadsheet)