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BA Athletics Club News Digest 5th March 2018Events:
New members and potential members of all fitness levels and abilities are welcome at all of these events. The full diary of club featured events is on the club website at: http://www.barunner.org.uk/Event Diary.shtml [updated 13th Feb]. *Club Event Map: [Clickable link to Google Maps] Not for you, no longer interested? remove me please. / Difficulty viewing this? Read it from the website:- http://www.barunner.org.uk/News Latest.shtml. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BARunnerUK/ (formal "BARunner" page), BA Runner Facebook Group (ask to join) Inclusions, with photos, please to Roderick Hoffman at news@barunner.org.uk. Final call for VMLM helpersThis is the final call for helpers for the Virgin Money London Marathon on 22nd April 2018. I’ve currently got 124 helpers (which is great) but can accommodate a few more BUT I need to submit names to the organisers next week as named course passes will be issued. As a reminder, helpers will get a New Balance jacket (windcheater style; as modeled at the Big Half by some of the team), NB baseball cap and pin PLUS the satisfaction of helping at the best organised marathon in the World! Please email simon.turton@ba.com if you’d like to help. Simon Turton The Club Awards for 2017 - presented at The Five Bells on Wednesday 28th FebruaryInstinctive Pace Training Session - 28 February 2018 - Joe's write-upSadly, the Siberian Beast got the better of us and at the last minute we called this off but hope to re-run sometime soon. Two prizes really need to be awarded however ….to Christine Munden who was in her running vest and shorts and ready and eager to run, and to Harry Wild who was there ready to marshal. At 5:30pm the course was clear and safe however as I set my Garmin to walk and measure the course there was a bad omen (…my watch has a heart rate monitor activated by contact with my wrist) that with the extreme cold that it told me I had no heartbeat ! At 5:45 unfortunately a blizzard of snow begun which continued through the evening. Fortunately, we could make early retirement to the bar ready for the annual awards evening. Joe Nolan The Evening - Neil's viewConditions were unsuitable for the planned event and with no other runners appearing we headed upstairs at around 7. Food arrived at 7:30 for 35 but there were only about 12 people at the time. First servings eaten, more and more people arrived so by 8pm we had a total of about 25. Phew after my second helping I couldn’t manage any more. Luckily the chef thought ahead and provided some takeaway containers so that we didn’t leave too much food behind. We managed to put the trophies on a window table close to a table facing the rest of the room for the presentation party to speak from. As the first award presented I realised that with Paul Brandon a late absentee due to the weather that we didn’t have a photographer so I persuaded Janet Smith to do the duties. Thanks to Facebook I know that she is a keen photographer though she only had her phone with her. {Ed: I'm sending this week's digest from a low bandwidth area so I can't include any photographs BUT Janet's photographs are in the Club's Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/636199849751546/).} Don’t know about anyone else but I was frozen despite wearing my coat all evening, maybe I should have gone and asked for heating to be put on!! Neil Frediani The Awards...The Club President John Williams gave out each of the annual awards and the following text is the gist of his speech. He obviously said a lot more, difficult to paraphrase, but in short he enjoyed the evening and he was very pleased with the continued spirit of the club. The Chairman’s AwardThis award is presented by the Chairman to the club member who has made the greatest contribution to the club. Roderick sent his apologies for not being at the Awards Evening but submitted the following: "2017 has been a challenging year for the club and I have been appreciative of the efforts of everyone on the committee to keep the club not only afloat, but also heading towards less troubled waters. I'm also appreciative of the efforts of those without formal roles on the committee who have taken their turn with the oars. With the Chairman's Trophy this year I want to recognise the considerable
efforts of someone who has proved invaluable with the support that he has given
me, the work he does for the communications digest every week and the events
that he has organised for the club - for instance including the winter handicap
event, where he has sacrificed his own running opportunity to ensure that we
continue to have the event. Brian Forrester 10K TrophyHere’s a question. You want to be the fastest over-50 track runner in Britain, ever, over the distance of one mile. What would be your preparation? Would it be a beach holiday in Europe? That’s what our hero chose....only this was a European beach with a difference:
The winner of the Brian Forrester 10K trophy is Adrian Haines. Alamo TrophyThe Alamo trophy is presented each year to the team member with the most notable achievement at WARR, not necessarily involving running. The award this year is to be shared between three club members. They attended WARR as normal, taking in the T Shirt Party on the Friday evening and then turning up at silly o'clock on Saturday morning for the start of the 10k. However having run the 10k race they didn't wait for the 5k - to either double up and run it, or to stay and cheer on their colleagues. Instead they flagged down a taxi, directed the driver to take them to the east coast and then ran from the taxi to the start line of the Singapore East Coast Park parkrun - which they then ran. The group had perhaps been led astray by a fourth BA runner, Jude Carter-Murphy, but as Jude is not a club member, he is absolved in this affair. Rumours that the BA team captain sanctioned and even encouraged the trip to the parkrun will be strongly denied. The recipients of this year's Alamo WARR trophy are Tim Bellars, John Scaife and Benita Scaife. Round The Block TrophyThis trophy can be captured by devising, marshalling and taking part in BA events throughout the year. The more you compete, plan or marshal, the more points you earn. There was tight competition this year, with a three way battle between Roderick and the two Steves, Newell and Hillier. All three were regulars on Wednesdays, organising devious and hopefully enjoyable club events, and they all did a bit of running too. The overall winner of the Round The Block trophy is to be confirmed by a recount. Ladies’ Track and Field Grand PrixWe have three opportunities to take part in Track & Field competition: The Vets League, the Rosenheim League, and our in-house Grand Prix events at Uxbridge. Several ladies competed in the 2017 Track and Field competitions, but two stood out. Julie Barclay showed her running versatility by covering track events from 100m up to 3000m, breaking records and personal bests as she went. Meanwhile Janet Smith continued her great form in the centre of the arena, throwing international class distances, especially in the discus and hammer. The point scores were very close, but in the final reckoning...... Our Ladies’ Track & Field Award goes to Janet Smith. Men’s Track and Field Grand PrixIt was good to see more men competing for this award during 2017, including several new members to the club. High up in the standings were two young lads, relatively new to the BA Track & Field team, who show great potential. Danny Treherne again showed his promise of the past couple of years, with some blistering sprinting, while young Simon Turton mopped up all of the Grand Prix track events with his smooth running style. However, mainly for his ability to lob large lumps of metal a reasonable distance, the Men’s Track & Field Award goes to Steve Hillier. The Club parkrun TrophyOutstanding contribution or participation at parkrun… Since the club is firmly founded in the travel industry it is no surprise that some members of the club have developed the habit of frequently travelling to different parkruns. The winner of the parkrun trophy this year is a club member who has taken that to the extreme. Over the twelve month period he has visited 42 different parkruns of which 33 were new to him and 15 were new for the club. These included parkruns in 6 different countries, including parkruns in new parkrun countries of Sweden and Germany. He would have added Norway to that list also but having flown all the way to Oslo he discovered that the parkrun there had had to be cancelled due to ice. During the year he clocked up his 200th different parkrun venue as well as his 250th total run. His latest parkrun statistics are 289 parkruns run at 223 different parkrun venues across 14 different parkrun countries. Over the years this year's winner has been the first BA runner at at least 123 different parkruns. He can't be with us this evening since he is skiing in the States but you will not be surprised to learn that he adjusted his plans to go out one day early so that he was able to run at Colorado's South Boulder Creek inaugural parkrun last Saturday. This year's winner of the parkrun award is Roderick Hoffman. Men’s Cross Country TrophyThis trophy is presented to the man who had most success last year with our cross country team. The calculation of this award winner takes account of age, appearances and placings during Winter 2016/17. Neil Frediani and Gary Rushmer worked hard to encourage good participation. As a result, competition for this award was fierce, with 18 runners in contention. At the sharp end, Chris Kelly and John Taylor had great seasons, with John winning the BA Championships and Chris finishing in the top three for the team in every event. The winner of the trophy ran in every BA event, led the team home at the dreaded Croydon and took two strong second places. Our top male cross country runner is Gary Rushmer. Ladies Cross Country TrophyFourteen ladies ran during Winter 2016/17, showing that Tom Rowley’s encouragement for the team is very much valued. Like the men, the ladies ploughed through snow and mud to reach the cakes at the finish line, and produced some fine performances in horrible conditions. Alice Banks led the team home at Mitcham, while Helen Smith produced great runs at three cross countries. This year’s winner had a great run at Nonsuch, then led the team home at both Ham and Coulsdon, only stopping to turn and cheer the rest of the team home. This year, the winner of the Ladies Cross country trophy is Deby Helsdon. Veteran’s trophyThis trophy was presented to the club by Malcolm Field, at a time when many of our members were reaching veteran status. These days, we find that most of our members are competing for this trophy, so winning this award has become even more prestigious. Our winner was gracing cinder tracks before a many of us were born. He was tucked in just behind Bannister, Chataway and Brasher, producing some exceptional 880 yard times close to the two minute mark. Fast forward sixty years, and he is still to be found, striding the streets of Heston. What’s more, at every CIE he is at some far flung street corner in his bright yellow jacket, directing us around dodgy corners with a cheery wave. Most importantly, he is the guardian of the legendary cone, to be found approximately half a mile from the start/finish of the Parkway Mile. The club has been enriched by his efforts and his friendship. The Veteran’s trophy has been won this time by a “Supervet”, Harry Wild. Most Improved AthleteThis year’s winner brought his 5k times down close to 20 minutes, and his 10K time improved to a fraction over 44 minutes. He has represented the club on both the track and the road, producing great times over both 1500 metres and 3000 metres. A product of the world famous Rowley stable, our winner is sure to keep improving in 2018. BA’s most improved athlete is Paul Watt. Female Athlete of the YearOur winner has proved that dedication to running will bring rich rewards.
She has worked supremely hard to improve her ability over long distance, and to
improve her speed on shorter runs. In the meantime she has inspired others
around her to take part and enjoy athletics. Our female athlete of the year is Trish McCabe. Male Athlete of the YearOur winner has already had a mention for the help he has provided with several BA teams, including the Rosenheim Track & Field squad and the men’s cross country team. He has kept our Rosenheim challenge alive, brought along new competitors to try the events, and he has helped to grow the club with his links to parkrun. In the meantime, he has worked hard on his own running, with great results. As well as running strongly in the London Marathon and the Ealing Half Marathon, he completed the Snowdonia trail half marathon, finishing 8th in his category. He was also a member of our successful Green Belt relay team. This year’s stand-out candidate for the male athlete of the year is Neil Frediani. Steve Hillier, Roderick Hoffman and others Daylight Wednesday Run - 21st March Rickmansworth AquadromeTo mark the Spring Equinox and the last week of GMT the next NOW run will be at Rickmansworth Aquadrome on Wednesday 21st March. Ready to run at 12 noon and hopefully some space in the café at 1 p.m. Maybe a glorious sunny al fresco snack by the lake! Club parkrun results for Saturday 3rd March February 2018
This was the weekend most will remember as the one when over 80% of the UK parkruns were cancelled because of ice and snow. Runners in the West London area had more options than most and although Bedfont Lakes was one of the parkruns which was called off many of our members found somewhere else to run not too far away. Conditions were more difficult than usual but Tom Rowley reported a light hearted snowball fight breaking out at the finish at Frimley Lodge. Reading was amongst the cancellations and Chris Kelly (23:24) chose to return to Henley where he was one of only 16 finishers. Joe Nolan (34:44) took the opportunity to visit Old Deer Park for the first time. Alan Anderson (37:08) was part of a group who safely slithered round Osterley Park to complete his 498th run so he is still on course to complete his 500th at Gunnersbury on Saturday 17th March. The 181 who finished included the local MP Ruth Cadbury (32:13) – who was elected with a majority of 12,000 for Labour in 2015. She lost her place on the opposition front bench for defying the party whip over membership of the single market but she may be back in favour shortly. We started the day with three members who had scored a maximum of ten parkruns between New Year’s Day and the end of February. David Duggan (27:49 at Bushy Park) whose haul included four in Australia is now on 11. Ian Cunningham and Trish McCabe both saved themselves for the “Big Half” the following day, and Roderick was too busy skiing in the States. Alastair Heslop’s exceptional volunteer record at Guildford is to be recognised this month as they reach their 300th run and Alastair notches up his 150th volunteer shift. He will be the tail walker one week and race director the next! Steve Newell Updated parkrun stats - club parkrun stats parkrun shrinkageLast Saturday 409 UK parkruns were cancelled, whilst 1,910 volunteers enabled 97 parkruns to operate. The total UK 5K parkrun population was 14,624. Two parkruns attracted enough visitors from cancelled neighbours to achieve attendance records - Clifton as the only one of eight Nottingham parkruns to survive the weather and Wilmslow in Manchester. There is a google map showing the cancelled and held parkruns - parkrun published cancellations – Google My Maps (author Melanie Young in the UK parkrun Tourist group). Roderick Hoffman The Big Half - Selective results
The club also provided a volunteer team for the event. No report - but the team have posted many photographs on Facebook. Correspondence...From Andy Rayner...
Running ShortsThe next Street-O event is Tuesday 13th March at New Maldon - details: http://slow.org.uk/streeto/new-malden-street-o/ Tom's Diary
Next Digest?Results, news, pictures, feedback, jokes, stories - send it to the editor, Roderick Hoffman, at news@barunner.org.uk. Club website:
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