baRUNNER - a website for the British Airways Athletics Club
BA Athletics Club News Digest 7th March 2022
Events marked "#" are points scoring for the club's participation trophy - for the 2022 title. Club Event Map: [Clickable link to Google Maps] For future weeks: inclusions, with photos, please to Roderick Hoffman at news@barunner.org.uk. This Week's EventsPlease help me by sending in your results, for instance by filling in the tables below and forwarding to News@barunner.org.uk. Some events will have "Prompts" set up in Facebook. These allow the posting of a single image and some text and make it easy to flip through everyone's entries. Monthly Mile (submit before Monday 14th March):Run one mile and send me your time or add the details to the Facebook prompt. The mile can somebody else's formal event or even one mile within a longer run. I'll then produce a fancy graph showing your time this month compared to those of other people and previous runs over the last year.
Weekly Athletic Achievement (by late Sunday) or use the Facebook group prompt:
Key Events ReminderLast week's Special Digest covered three events the club is hosting in the next few months and included actions we want you to take:
Roderick Hoffman Next Week's Digest, and next week's eventsEditor: Expect next week's digest to be late, or early and with gaps, or both. I'm due to depart on Monday evening from an airport in a different timezone so I may have to juggle the print time for the digest (and rely on free airport WiFi!). I've timed my departure to make sure that I'll be back for next week's Wednesday lunchtime's NOW event at Syon Park. If the digest is late then please note these details for that event... NOW Syon ParkThe next midday midweek run/jog/walk for "Non Office Workers" will be based on Syon Park, Brentford on Wednesday 16th March. The vehicle entrance to the park is from Park Road to the south. There is a large free car park and a garden centre which has toilets and a cafe. The historic Syon House is currently closed for the winter but people who like what they see can revisit over the summer (for an entry fee). The post code is TW8 8JF and what/three/words is "fend.trips.dare". Those attending should aim to meet at the garden centre entrance at 12 noon. Two routes are on offer: i) for those looking for a run of about 10km... Run back to the entrance at Park Road and then along to the left past the "London Apprentice" pub, along riverside paths through Old Isleworth into St Margarets and then to Richmond Weir/Lock. Cross the Thames via the footbridge and then follow the Thames Path past Old Deer Park, Royal Mid Surrey Golf Course and Kew Gardens to Kew Bridge. Cross Kew Bridge and turn left to gain access to the footpath along the Middlesex side of the Thames towards Brentford Dock and the junction of the Grand Union Canal. The route avoids most of Brentford High Street and the return to Syon Park is via a pedestrian/cycle only route. ii) for those wanting a shorter and more urban route at a slower pace, even just walking, we will head in the opposite direction, cross the canal at Brentford Lock, and make our way through the area between the A315 and A4 past Griffin Park, home to Brentford FC for one hundred years, until this season, and along near junction 2 of M4 to the new Brentford Community Stadium in Lionel Road (South) the new home for Brentford FC and also for London Irish RFC, both teams currently in the premier league of their respective sports. On towards Kew Bridge we can return to Syon Park using the same route as the 10 km runners (see above). Numerous short cuts will be available for those on the "walking route". There will be an opportunity to visit the cafe from about 1 p.m. Steve Newell Let Steve or Roderick know to expect you so that we can look out for you and wait at the start. WARR ReminderAlthough the event itself isn't yet open for reservation there will be a WARR run this year (subject to the uncontrollables) at Waikiki in Hawaii with events from October 13th to race day on 16th. The race headquarters hotel is the Queen Kapiolani and I've booked and I know of some others who have done so also. The hotel link with the WARR discount and special conditions (including 14-day prior to arrival cancel policy) is Queen Kapiolani Booking Link. Roderick Hoffman Recent Activity AchievementsI picked up on 17 club members and friends reporting recent activity achievements.
Roderick Hoffman Piers goes into more details about his event: "I took a few wrong turns and ended up covering nearer 29 miles. So much mud and water on the trails it was difficult to make fast progress without slipping over! Organised by the Long Distance Walking Association (LDWA) so plenty to eat and drink at the three checkpoints - village halls where there was tea and coffee together with plates full of sandwiches, cakes and biscuits." parkrun Results for Saturday 5th March 202232 activities are recorded this week. Please get in touch if your activity is missing.
The weather was a little more benign in some areas this weekend and across UK the attendance at 5km parkruns exceeded 120,000 for the second consecutive week against the figure just short of 80,000 after Storm Eustice. Nevertheless it pays to keep an eye on the ‘parkrun UK cancellations’ website as parkrunday approaches and even on Saturday morning itself and be as nimble as possible. John and Benita Scaife (“37:49”) travelled to Horspath (near and to the East of Oxford) in expectation and arrived in good time only to find it wasn’t happening. They quickly navigated the five miles to “Oxford” parkrun (aka Cutteslowe Park, in North Oxford) arriving in time for a breathless chase after the tailwalker and eventually find sanctuary towards the rear of the main pack. Never Give Up! [more below] Maria Jovani (22:29) stayed at home and was first female home at Bedfont Lakes for a remarkable 30th time. As trailed last week, David Duggan (33:46) homed in on his 100th different park and visited Rendlesham Forest near Woodbridge in Suffolk, which only held its inaugural the week before. Astonishingly, David had never run a #2 before so his Wilson Index has leapt from 1 to 16. Up and Running! And what did Caroline Cockram do in response? She went to California Country Park and strolled round with Joanne Sinton-Hewitt in about 55 minutes (hubby and parkrun founder Paul Sinton Hewitt was also there for the first time and came 15th in 21:43. He is now on 487 runs by the way so should get his blue 500 vest over the summer. Ian Cockram was about a minute further back. Alice Banks (26:36) headed for Clevedon Salthouse Fields in Somerset to break new ground while Roderick Hoffman (31:03) added Kingdom parkrun in Kent to his and the club's ever growing collection. Ian Cunningham (26:12) visited Riddlesdown straddling the fringes of London and Surrey for the first time. Many members have been there once and never been back. Melanie Miller (37:28) is chiselling away at her Fibonacci sequence and nailed #89 this week at Chasewater, park #58 for her. There may an opportunity for “233” at Canons Park (Harrow) in July. Keep an eye on it! Steve Newell Full club parkrun database - {read access to club parkrun database} - Download and explore. Club Event Map: [Clickable link to Google Maps]
Since the recent inaugural run of "University Parks parkrun" in Oxford last month, "Oxford" parkrun has become the third nearest parkrun to Oxford (Harcourt Hill also being nearer to the centre, Horspath is a little further away). People don't like parkruns being renamed...but there comes a point where a name becomes more misleading than helpful. Roderick Hoffman Football Runs - West Ham & Leyton OrientJulie and I decided that this past weekend was the best time to continue with our quest of running from Trafalgar Square to all of the football grounds within a London borough belonging to clubs in the top four English divisions during this current season. The season’s-end is approaching rapidly and with weekends filling up we are running out of time. Temperatures are starting to rise so now is the time. It is four months since our last run which was to Q.P.R. in West London and this weekend we tried a totally new direction of North-East with a double-header of West Ham on Saturday - yes I reluctantly agreed to include clubs with rented accommodation - followed by Leyton Orient on Monday. Some careful planning was required and it was agreed that as our destinations
were a long way from us, the parkrun would prudently be our ‘Londone FENDY’
(furthest event) and therefore Harrow Lodge was chosen. We also confirmed that
West Ham were not playing at home as I once heard that they have had a sizeable
crowd before. A hotel was booked for the Saturday and Sunday nights and the
admin was complete. Sunday morning on the Jubilee line to Waterloo and we braved the elements by wearing our running shirts and shorts. Tube trains are quite warm once inside yet it did not stop the looks of amazement and ridicule from the coffee cup huggers wrapped up in umpteen layers who obviously thought that we were completely mad. We connected onto the Northern Line and alighted at Charing Cross for the short walk to Trafalgar Square. The 6.2 mile run through deserted streets took us along the Strand, Fleet Street and up to Hackney Road. We passed Old Smithfields Market, the Columbia flower-market and through Victoria Park before arriving at the Olympic Stadium in 58 minutes. Thank goodness for the Pret coffee shop as a rapid caffeine-fix and rapid thaw were definitely required. Monday morning and back on the Jubilee Line to Charing Cross for a run to Leyton Orient. Slightly less breezy but far busier as expected and special attention needed to avoid the swarms of bicycles that attacked from all directions. The route was almost the same as yesterday: we ran along the other side of Victoria Park and then past Hackney Marsh to the Breyer Group Stadium. The seven miles took 1:06 followed by a short walk to Leyton Station for the one stop train ride to Stratford for a coffee and hot shower. A really successful weekend that included three good runs but we are off now to face the cost of two days parking at Westfields.
Paul and Julie Middlesex Masters Cross CountryThe Middlesex Masters Cross Country is on Sunday 27th March from 11:00 at Trent Park (Cockfosters). Distances are 6.4km or 9.6km. Those eligible to enter (by birth or residence) may do so for £8 by visiting: Herts and Middx Vets Cross Country, 27/03/2022 where there is a prospectus available with further details. The closing date for entries is on the 18th March. Next Digest - Results, news, pictures, feedback, jokes, stories - send them to the editor, Roderick Hoffman, at news@barunner.org.uk. 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. Club website: www.barunner.org.uk.
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