baRUNNER - a website for the British Airways Athletics Club

BA Athletics Club News Digest 9th April 2018

Events:

• Wednesday 11th April - Watersplash Running Festival from 18:00*#
• Wednesday 18th April - Pre-London Marathon briefing - Wraysbury Lake club house - details to be confirmed next week*
• Sunday 22nd April - London Marathon #

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 8th April 2018}

* Club Event Map: [Clickable link to Google Maps]   /  # Club Points event - see below

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.

# New Round-the-Block points table

This year we have made a few changes to the club's Round-the-Block points table. The club uses this to keep track of how often members contribute to club events.  This is used to award the "Round-the-Block" trophy to the club member who has contributed the most.  This year we will also be using the table to recognise the efforts over the year of other club members who may not be able to contribute as regularly. 

Many of the events in the club calendar are marked with an "#".  These are the events that points are awarded for and include the monthly "Club In-house Event" and "Run-of-the-Month", the Track&Field and Cross-Country league matches, our regular marshalling opportunities, selected "Club Featured parkruns" and some other choice events - around 50 in all over the year.  Four points are awarded for the main organiser of events that need an organiser, two points are awarded if you marshal or support the organiser (but without running) and one point for running at the event.  The year goes from January through to December so we are already three months in. I have set the early pace, accumulating 13 points from six events, but others will catch up particularly as we get into the marshalling and Track&Field seasons. There will then be a late charge from our Cross-Country specialists.  I'll provide a monthly update on those that have crossed table thresholds.

There are two scoring events in April - The Watersplash 10k/5k on the 11th and the London Marathon on the 22nd. In May there are seven scoring events - see the club calendar and copy the "#" events into yours.

Roderick Hoffman

Watersplash 10Km, Wednesday 11th April #

The annual Watersplash 10km and 5km runs will be held this Wednesday, 11th April starting and finishing at the Field of Hope (M4, Jct 3).  Car parking, changing rooms and hot showers are available in the Cranford Community Centre.  Usual figure of eight course.

The 5km race will have a mass start at 6.35 p.m.  10km runners should let Steve Newell know how long they expect to need to complete the 10km course (2 laps) so that a suitable start time can be agreed.  The idea is for all to finish around 7.15 p.m.  There will be post run get together in the Queens Head afterwards.  Sadly the generous and not so generous discounts for BA Clubs members have lapsed.

Any volunteer marshals, timekeepers most welcome - please contract Steve Newell.

Steve Newell

New Membership Year - Subscriptions due

As you know, its April, and the BA AC Subs for 2018 Membership are now due.

If you have setup a standing order for the yearly payment, please check the date and amount.  This year our Subs remain constant at £9, but the Affiliation to UK Athletics has increased again to £15. If you affiliate, your payment should now total £24.

Please let us know by email that you have paid, as we will not see the monthly Bank Statement (till the 5th) to know to pay your affiliation. Thanks.

•  BAAC: 10096647
•  SortCode: 60-02-60

Regards,

Chris Kelly (Club Treasurer) christkelly@yahoo.com

Alan Friar (Membership Secretary) a.friar1@ntlworld.com

Please tell us if you are changing your membership status - leaving the club, changing your UK Athletics affiliation, joining/leaving BA Clubs - we try to keep up, but it is difficult when we are not informed. What do you get for your membership...

• Entry and use of facilities hired by the club for club evening events - for instance Cranford Community College changing rooms are currently provided on Wednesday evenings.  Where facilities are paid for by BA Clubs then BA Clubs membership may also be required.
• Entry into the monthly Club In-house Event (CIE), these events are usually designed to encourage full participation by all club members regardless of ability or fitness.
• Entry into the monthly Club Socials, with inclusive catering every other month (club funds permitting),
• Running colleagues for ad hoc and training runs...
  • from the Cranford Community College on Wednesday evenings,
  • and Track & Field every Monday,
  • and lunchtimes from Waterside (the BA Head Quarters at Harmondsworth).
• Running opportunities covering road running, parkruns, cross-country, team relays and others,
• Track and field athletics,
• International events,
• Opportunities to organise events or simply assist others doing so,
• Additional opportunities to gain entry into the London Marathon,
• Support for the club website and Facebook pages and these weekly club digests,
• Two pounds discount from most UK fee entry running events [with UK Athletics Affiliation].

See also: http://www.barunner.org.uk/Club_Membership.shtml

Dream Mile 5th April 2018 Results

In near perfect conditions (a slight, slowing headwind was the only negative), we welcomed two newcomers, Joe Nolan (am I suffering the same hallucinations that Joe reported last week??) and James Greaves. Steve Hillier (recently retired) returned for his second run, 3 weeks after his first and knocked 50secs off his original time thanks to having Roderick to pursue . James was first home (just) and pulled me along to my fastest time in 18months. Steve Taylor (recently retired although possibly only temporarily) would probably have been first home if he was back to full fitness.  Joe had a most eventful first run, on his birthday, he parked at the finish but was unable to pay due to the machine not accepting his money, so he arrived late to the start and out of breath. We waited a few minutes so that he could catch a breath and then started. Not surprisingly after all that he was last BUT he was fast enough to get to the finish and then run back to his van just as the traffic warden got there. He either convinced the warden that the machine wasn’t working or the warden sympathised with this apparently asthmatic, out-of-breath driver. Let us hope that everyone returns next month along with the regulars and maybe we could reach double figure again. I would put money on Joe getting a PB next time {Ed: ...or a ticket}.

Neil Frediani

London Marathon runner update

We do have at least twenty runners training for this year's London Marathon, which is now barely two weeks' away. The team has been very quiet this year - hopefully they are quietly pounding the streets rather than quietly hoping their niggles will go away.

On Wednesday 18th April there will be a briefing session for our marathon marshaling teams. This will be held at the Wraysbury "Silver Wing" Sailing Base (TW19 5AG) from 19:00.  There are changing rooms and showers there so you may also choose to go for a run from there from 18:00 (don't arrive earlier - the site may not be open until 18:00).  Marshals don't have to be at the briefing session but it is useful if you know someone who will be there so that they can pick up any kit for you as well as pass on critical messages.

Roderick Hoffman obo Simon Turton/Steve Hillier

Club parkrun results for Saturday 7th April 2018

Firstly, a brief catch-up on last week (Holy Saturday) when we went to press a little earlier than usual.  John Taylor (20:23) was belatedly credited with a time at Frimley Lodge when it was realised that the barcode reader was at fault, not his barcode!  Graham Taylor also pointed out that Amy Chalk (nee Stiles), once very successful for BA at WARR, was first lady home at Melksham where the Ruffell family were out in force including Bridget(35:06) having her first parkrun for three years.

This week Tom Rowley was at Hazelwood (Sunbury on Thames) with some of his protégés and was most impressed with the spectator facilities (large free car park, café, view of the whole course (binoculars might be required)).  Mike Waine (BA staff, 21:11) equaled the MV60 age category record) round the all grass circuit.  Jacqui Musselwhite (24:44) set a new female club record.  John Coffey (29:15) was a little slower and may have to apply to Tom for some additional training.  Kevin Holland (37:31 at Woking) was running for the first time after a kidney operation.

There were just a couple of tourist exploits this week with Roderick Hoffman (27:20) enjoying the very flat course along the seafront at Worthing.  Steve Newell (37:05) took the opportunity to take his bike on the new Elizabeth Line rolling stock to Shenfield to put him within cycling reach of the Billericay parkrun.  An eccentric way to celebrate a birthday, he won’t have another one on a Saturday until 2029.  The club total has moved on to 402 different parks.

The flood at Maidenhead had retreated sufficiently for the run to take place this week.  At Harrow, Denis Foxley (28:47) enjoyed his best run for a while and is now just one short of his century.  Neil Frediani (25:22) recorded his best time at Bedfont Lakes this year.  Gareth Snook (22:28 at Cardiff) came out of hibernation for his first outing of 2018.

Steve Newell

Updated parkrun stats - club parkrun stats

parkrun Growth

Last week I reported that Victoria Dock parkrun is the only parkrun in the world you can arrive at by Cable Car.  On Saturday there was the inaugural parkrun at Fort William and it is possible that you can leave that parkrun by Gondola, climbing up the Ben Nevis range, but I doubt that you can arrive at it by the same mode of transport. 79 attended the inaugural including 38 locals and 41 from a long way away.

Record attendances in Paris and Berlin this weekend.  In Paris, Bois de Boulogne had 190 runners (recent average 25) and Montsouris had 125 (recent average 20). By coincidence (not) it was the Paris Marathon yesterday.  Hasenheide (Berlin) had 179 runners (recent average 50, previous record 129 at the inaugural).  Yesterday there was a well publicised Half-Marathon in Berlin.  Overall in France there were 390 parkrunners thereby taking the record attendance crown from Germany that had been held since the Berlin Inaugural run. Germany also had a record number of parkrunners though at 381 slightly fewer than in France. 

A new parkrun in Rome attracted 90 runners including 30 new parkrunners, 25 of whom have names ending in "A", "I" or "O".  Just 5 of the 18 on "2 to 30" parkruns had names ending in one of those vowels and 37 runners on more than 30 parkruns had names ending in "E" or consonants. This is not a random pattern - it shows the take-up of parkrun by locals with Italian names.  Hopefully the "A", "I" and "O" runners will predominate over time. Italy also had a record number of parkrunners on Saturday - 330 so not that far behind France and Germany.

As has been pointed out before - there is a Facebook group for people like me - "parkrun statsgeek group", indeed these days I'm a major contributor and one of the admins for it.

Roderick Hoffman

Appreciation

Coaching and Officials Training Courses

The latest coaching and officials courses are listed on the England Athletics website at https://www.englandathletics.org/Courses-and-Bookings.

As ever, BAAC would be keen to encourage members to widen their skills and try them out on us as a club, and we would be happy to subsidise anyone who would like to take part in one of these courses.

Steve Hillier {stevehillier@msn.com}

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:

www.barunner.org.uk.