Subject: V S Fortnightly Update - 2
sittings for lasagne, Grand Prix & Fell Champs 2013, duathlon, peco pics,
race reports from Sarah Smith, Simon & Kim race wins, and more
Sent: 31 January 2013 12:34
Apologies, I was away
last week so there was no V S Update
Training
Tuesday 5 February –
4 sessions and 2 lasagne sittings – all at Leos
·
Kathy,
Richard and Andy’s beginners/improvers/juniors at 6pm, followed by lasagne at
7:15pm
·
Holly
& Grace’s intermediates at 7pm, followed by lasagne at 8:30pm
·
Experienced
runners session at 7pm (3 by 10mins at High Ashes) , followed by lasagne at
8:30pm
·
Fell-runners
session at 7pm – “7 hills” down to Smithy Mills and then various hill reps
working back to Leos via Church Lane, Stonegate Road etc., followed by lasagne
at 8:30pm
Book your lasagne at [email protected] saying whether you
want carnivore or veggie lasagne and also whether you want apple pie. Remember
to say whether you want the 7:15 or 8:30 sitting (or both!)
Myra has confirmed
that the Friday 6pm ladies-only session restarts this week, short reps suitable
for everyone, contact [email protected] for details.
There is a new Sunday
intermediates session. They have a training plan aiming for the Edinburgh
Half Marathon in April so the sessions are currently around 7 miles but will be
building up. Contact Holly [email protected] or Grace [email protected] for details.
Events
This Saturday (2nd)
is the first rescheduled first parkrun at Templenewsam – see the Facebook page
“Temple Newsam parkrun” note the space between (“temple” and “newsam”).
Next V S Grand Prix
races – Dewsbury 10k (3 Feb - closed), Peco Race 4 (17 Feb at John Smeaton) www.pecoxc.co.uk . Note that
Peco race 5 is on Sunday 3 March at Adel, so 2 local races to finish the
series.
I think the meeting
between the Grand Prix organisers and Fell Championship organisers is next
Tuesday so once we’re sure there are no clashes we can finalise both.
First race in
Yorkshire Vets series is Sunday 3 February at Horsforth see www.yvaa.org for details.
“Good changing facilities and showers. Food will be available after the
race”.
Stokesley Duathlon –
about a dozen Striders are competing on Sunday 24 March. This is a 5k
run, 35k bike, 5k run. There is also a “novice” race 3k/17k/3k and
also a team race – one cyclist plus one or two runners. See http://www.trihard.co.uk/Stokesley/stokesleyhome.htm . Contact Dan Murray
for more details about the Striders team [email protected] .
Sheffield Adventure
Festival – running talks
Amanda Seims, Richard
Adcock, Simon Redshaw, Sarah Smith and a few more are going to http://www.shaff.co.uk/whats-on/speakers/shaff-expert-night-running/ , and
before you worry, this is not a talk about night-running, it is 5 experts talking
one night about running. If you’re thinking of going, contact Amanda [email protected] or Sarah
[email protected] re
car-sharing.
Leeds to Liverpool
Ultra – event details
30 Athletes - 128
Miles - 4 Days - One Goal!
Run on Water is a new
4 day event organised in association with Brathay Trust. It will take place
between Leeds and Liverpool starting at Granary Wharf, in Leeds, at 10:30am on
Thursday 21st March. It will finish at Albert Dock, in Liverpool, on 24th March.
·
Runners
will follow the Leeds, Liverpool canal over 4 days - supported by the
experienced Brathay team
·
The
course follows the canal tow path and is divided into day stages of: 29, 32, 33
and 34 miles
·
There
will be aid stations and electronic timing points at intervals on the course +
welcome refreshments at the finish each day
Entry Fee -
£475 Entry fee includes: Transport during the event, accommodation,
breakfast, electronic timing system, finishers medal, trophies and prizes for
the winners in various categories and safety and logistical support from the
Brathay team. All finishers will receive a unique ultra-medal
Meet amazing people
and achieve something quite incredible. Join us!...and be proud to
say "I was one of the first Run on Water athletes."
Limited to 30
applicants www.runonwater.co.uk
Results
We were wondering
whether the pools panel should sit to declare the finishing order for GP
points, but instead we’ll choose another half marathon or 10 miler later in the
year.
Pontefract parkrun –
all Leeds parkruns last Saturday were cancelled but Simon & Gemma Midwood
went to Pontefract – Simon won and Gemma was 4th W.
Northern XC – not
many of the Yorkshire clubs went across to Knowsley Safari Park last
Saturday. Leeds City were the exception, winning the men’s title and
having 3 teams in the top 10 – their women took bronze medals. Paul
Fotherby was the only Strider to go, finishing 217th out of 583.
Over 500 pics of Peco
Race 3 at Bramley Falls are on Andrew Hardaker’s page on Facebook https://plus.google.com/photos/112124259278502910299/albums/5833048042774321393 . This
includes pics of all the 6 VS Juniors – 5 are in Striders vests – Adam Mills
(red thermal), Sarah Brady, Callum Parton (in vest), Alex Irvine (with hat) and
Eleanor Ford. Joe Sherman is in a bright yellow weatherproof top and
blue/white hat next to a girl in dark blue / light blue checked shirt.
Race Report - The
Hardmoors 30, 1 January 2013 – from Sarah Smith
“I was going to go to
Ravenscar for my summer holidays but the walk to the beach was down a steep
cliff…”. The steep cliff which ruined the dreams of the developers defines
Ravenscar as you enjoy the spectacular views from the top, and it is the
impressive bulk which you head towards as you approach from Whitby along the
coastal path.
Ravenscar was
fortunate in that it escaped the developers’ grasp. Twenty years ago, I
camped at Bent Rigg Farm walking from Scarborough to Whitby along the Cleveland
Way and went back many times as I was drawn to the place.
Ravenscar, the bare
outline of a village, coupled with the remote Raven Hall Hotel perched on the
top of the cliff directly above Wine Haven and with sweeping views of Robin
Hood’s Bay.
The Raven Hall Hotel
was looking a little tired until recently it was given an injection of life and
is now a popular wedding venue. The photographs on the walls of glamorous
gatherings there in the glory years gone by, put me in mind of The Shining.
Inspired by beautiful
pictures of the coastline by Ultramoors Man on the Hard Moors Facebook page in
September 2012, I signed up for the Hard Moors 30, having previously felt the
route looked a little tame. A disused railway features a lot in the
figure of eight route, which might be ideal for cycling with children but for
running, for me it is too enclosed.
Steve and Andreas
joined me on a recce of the route in December and we were treated to a lovely
day, the rugged majesty of the North Yorkshire coastline splashed in bright
colours courtesy of brilliant sunshine. Setting off from Leeds in the
dark, we had driven through the dawn to arrive at Ravenscar at 9 am in daylight.
We had coffee and cake in Robin Hoods Bay, and later enjoyed coffee and
chocolate in the church yard of St Mary’s church at the top of the 199 steps
(or 398 for Steve).
The Specials’
eponymous first album was the first CD of the year, on the early morning drive
to Ravenscar, followed by the Smashing Pumpkins. I arrived in Ravenscar
in a good mood having driven through a dawn again, the light was bright on
arrival, the road frosty, a nip in the air.
In the village hall I
was greeted by very efficient and very young marshals who registered me and
gave me my race card.
The race organiser
cheerfully advised us that if we had brought fell shoes or road shoes choose
the fell, as the muddy sections after Whitby were ‘bad’. Oh well, that
was about 4 or 5 hours away for me, not an immediate problem.
Having been told to
“bu**er off” by the race organiser, we were off. I set off at a fairly
good pace, my race plan was to “put some effort in”. I don’t know why but
I cannot go fast. My body just resists being pushed on the speed
side. It is probably worried it ‘might hurt’ but I just chug along gaily
at a steady pace most of the time, for hours. The plan for today was,
“try a bit harder than normal”. In fact, I had told myself: try so hard
that you feel ill at the end. I have read blogs where fell runners run so
hard they vomit in the race, and I feel ashamed that I just jog around and
breeze up at the end beaming, saying “that was great, I really enjoyed
that”.
It’s just such a
great feeling setting off on a long run, knowing you have 5 or 6 hours of this
ahead of you, savouring every step, every turn, every new view, warming up and
getting into the rhythm. It really is like being on a train with a bit of
a thrill of running thrown in.
We run round Blea
Wyke Point, and head down to Hayburn Wyke where we leave the Cleveland Way, and
head inland. Just after the first check point, a self-clip, I was running
across a boggy field, when I heard a man cussing loudly. I laughed thinking he
had just got wetter than he expected – I felt a little sheepish when another
runner told me he thought the first one had lost his shoe. As I looked back he
seemed to be searching for his shoe in the bog, assisted by another so I felt
bad, I hope he fished it out…
From here, you turn
onto the disused railway, and keep going along that until Whitby. The
long stretches along the disused railway could in theory get a bit tedious at
times, but I don’t expect entertainment on a 30 mile run. I imagine what it
would have been like to travel along that track, on a train and forget I am
propelling myself.
Check point 2, having
completed the Hayburn Wyke loop, is at the village hall, then trotting off back
on the disused railway, this time heading up to Whitby. This stretch of the
disused railway is the scene of a previous disaster around 20 years ago when I
found myself walking along this stretch, with Tony, in the dark without a
torch… it’s a long story!
Check point 3 in
Robin Hood’s Bay, food and drink and friendly marshals. No time for
coffee and cake this time. I plough on along the disused railway, still,
heading for Whitby. You are treated to glimpses of the sea to your right
if you are heading in the right direction. Whitby Abbey comes into view sooner
than you think it will and running into Whitby and through the throng of
day-trippers and up the 199 steps and through the church yard and onto the
coastal path. I don’t think breaking the lucky duck all those years ago
mattered after all. This is going so well.
Leaving St Mary’s,
the coastal path was fine, hard pack terrain. A little mud a bit further along,
then the small patches of mud became larger until I was running through swathes
of mud, which turned into channels and then tracts of land which were fields of
mud. The mud was frothy and bubbly, churned and whipped and a really
lovely light brown colour. It was difficult to get a grip and easy to
fall. Ahem. Past Far Jetticks. Clock Case Nab. Craze
Naze. Calf. Castle Chamber.
Back in Robin Hood’s
Bay, the marshals check you in and keep you going. Then, I find myself
running down the hill to Robin Hood’s Bay laughing and beaming from ear to
ear.
I call out to a pair
of runners, “isn’t this great, are you enjoying this?” And they look at
me like I am the most annoying person they have encountered ever. What on
earth is she on about? I run down the hill wondering if this unbreakable
descent will end in tears. Surely it must, I can’t stop or slow and this
is too fast for me! I’m going faster and faster, momentum is gathering
yet I manage to stay upright and then swerve to the right and up a ginnel, past
the chippy, and up to the coastal path again.
More mud, more
slipping and falling. Down the steps to Boggle Hole, up again, past
Tinkler’s Stone, then it’s that lovely finger post saying “Ravenscar 2 miles”
and I think ok, that’s 20 minutes left, damn. Up the hill to the Raven
Hall Hotel, it’s nearly dark, I power walk and try to fall forward to see if I
can fool my body into running. Remember your race plan. I am tired,
but not ill and certainly nowhere near vomiting. Turn right at the top,
hook up with a runner in pain, but he joins me in our combined attempt to
finish this running. We count down the seconds and lurch into the village
hall beaming from ear to ear.
All the prizes await
– hot coffee, a lovely baked potato, crisps. Then a presentation of
trophies, and heading home in the dark, a perfect start to the New Year.
1st male: Robin
Carter 4h 21m
1st female: Sophie
Crag 5h 32m
41st Sarah Smith 6h
15m
107 started
7 DNF
Hardmoors 15
I bumped into Kim as I was about to set off on the Hardmoors 30 on New Year’s
Day, she ran in the 15 mile race, finished 1st W and 4th
overall
Off the results page:
HARDMOORS 15 Category Winners
1st Richard Usher 2hrs 2mins
2nd Nick Mason 2hrs 13mins
3rd Tom Stewart 2hrs 16mins
1st Lady Kim Threadgall 2hrs 18mins
Race Report - Hebden
22, 19 January 2013 – from Sarah Smith
Start: 8 am,
Mytholmroyd. 22 miles in an anti-clockwise direction, heading up to Lower
Crimsworth near Pecket Well, turning at Gibson's Mill, then up to Old Town and
Slack. From there down to Blackshaw Head, along the Calderdale Way.
Down past Delph, through Jumble Hole Clough, past the waterfall and the remains
of Staups Mill, across the railway and the road and then it's a climb up from
there to Broadhead Clough. Past some ruins, you find yourself on the Pennine
Way, then instead of heading for Stoodley Pike which monument stands there like
a piece on a chess board, you follow Dicks Lane, cross a moor, and climb down
into Broadhead Clough. From here, you head for Cragg Vale, turn round past
Turkey Lodge and head back down to Mytholmroyd.
Today in sub-zero
temperatures, snow which was knee-deep in places, it was hard going, with a
cold wind in your face some of the time.
What a great day
running in snow on my favourite OL21 map.
Last year's time 5:09
This year's time 4:53
An improvement of 16
minutes explained by: not being so bleeding ignorant when it comes to the
route, reducing the amount of time spent at cake stall/checkpoints and taking
the food with me, meals on wheels if you like. Last year we were hampered by an
elemental wind, with the emphasis on mental, especially for the last say 6
miles.
Being driven home, I
find out that the Brass Monkey is cancelled, so I have a day off tomorrow...
Steve texts me to say
he has actually lost 1kg on this race. Disqualified. The array of food you are
treated to at the checkpoints is for the runner's benefit and welfare. To lose
weight on this race shows you have insufficient regard for your wellbeing. He
suggests a 10 minute penalty. OK.
Results:
1st male: Ben Mounsey
3h 06m
1st female: Isaline
Kneale 4h 00m
36th Paul Smith 4h
03m
44th Steve Dixon 4h 13m
68th Amanda Seims 4h
35m
86th Sarah Smith 4h
53m
128 ran
43 did not start
3 retired
Race Report –
Stanbury Splash – from Steve Dixon
A large contingent of
striders made it out to Haworth to run the Stanbury Splash. It’s likely
to be the second best attended fell race, after the 3 Peaks, in 2013!
Numbers were no doubt
swollen by Brass Monkey refugees.
Battle for first was
between the two Toms and only a second separated them at the finish! You
won’t be surprised to hear that snow was on the ground but icy stretches in the
upper reaches of the race forced an alteration to the course, shortening it
somewhat.
1 Tom
Addison Helm
Hill 39.01
2
Tom
Adams
Ilkley 39.02
72 Tony Mills V40 V.Striders
48.44
73
John Marsham
V.Striders 48.48
92 Kim Threadgall F V.Striders
49.56
111
Holly Williams F V.Striders
51.07
117
Andrew Settle V40 V.Striders 51.22
120
Julia Leventon F V.Striders
51.39
130
Justin Vogler V40 V.Striders 52.05
138
Ross
Bibby
V.Striders 52.22
155
Mark Woodhead V40 V.Striders 54.08
178
Stephen Dixon V50 V.Striders 56.03
225
Malcolm Coles V70 V.Striders 59.10
1st Over 70 Vet
266
Alun Davies V40
V.Striders 62.01
336
Ran
Kim, Holly and Julia
were I believe the 2nd ladies team after Wharfedale
Can we have races
added retrospectively to the Fell Championship?
And the answer to
Steve’s question is that you can decide next Tuesday!
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