baRUNNER - a website for the British Airways Athletics Club

BA Athletics Club News Digest 11th June 2018

Events:

• Wednesday 13th/27th June - Last Heston Runs - for 19:15 finish (see below)
• Sunday 17th June Concorde Five Mile Road Race 11:00 Cranford Community College #
• Monday 18th June T&F Vets League Battersea 18:30 #

We are still meeting at Cranford Community Centre most Wednesdays for an informal run from 18:00, including June 6th. From July we will be meeting at the Bedfont & Feltham Football & Social Club.

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.

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

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.

Brian Forrester

See last week's digest for details of Brian's funeral and gathering of friends.

• Let Steve Hillier know if you are likely to attend the buffet: Steve Hillier {stevehillier@msn.com}.
• Pass to Paul Brandon any photographs you have of Brian: Paul Brandon {pbrandon1@hotmail.co.uk}.
• Pass to Roderick Hoffman any short anecdotes you have of your time with and memories of Brian: Roderick Hoffman {roderick@rhoff.org.uk}

Roderick Hoffman (Chairman/Communications)

Concorde Five #

We need 15 regular marshals to run this event smoothly and I've currently only got a guarantee of 11. If you can spare time next Sunday morning between 9am and 12am please let me know: Roderick Hoffman {roderick@rhoff.org.uk} - or if you can coerce one or more friends or family members.

The marshals I know of are:

In key roles:-

Myself, Tom Rowley, Steve Newall, Steve Hillier, Steve&Marion Taylor, Jas' refreshment teams,

Regular marshals:-

Jagjit, JoeN, JohnC, JoanF, ColinH, TraceyM, HarryW, JohnW, NeilF, DavidD, GrahamT

Please let me know of any others.

Provided there isn't a swarm of on-the-day entries there will be a well deserved Concorde Five medal for each of the marshals.  If there is a swarm of on-the-day entries we'll provide an alternative reward.

The event also needs club runners so please notify Steve Taylor {stevet@goldenmanor.co.uk} if you are planning on turning up but haven't yet entered.

Roderick Hoffman

Last Chance Heston this Wednesday and on the 27th June

With moving away from the Cranford Community College we will be moving away from our traditional runs, runs that we have been doing for thirty years or more.  For that reason we will be using two of the last Wednesdays this month to do some traditional runs.  The map below show some of these - it doesn't matter what course you do but try to ensure that you finish at around 19:15 - so for instance if you think that you can keep up a ten minute mile pace then you could start the "Concorde Six" at 18:15. If you wanted to do the "Concorde Ten" at about that pace then you'd have had to start it at an early 17:35.

Please start and finish at the end of Crane Lodge Road (leading to the old Concorde Centre).

After the run we can shower and change at the Cranford Community College and then go to the Queen's Head - in the garden if the weather is favourable. 

Bedfont Membership

Our first evening in the Bedfont Club will be Wednesday July 4th.  I will be requesting membership of that club from BA Clubs for the following individuals, plus anyone else who contacts me in the next day or so:

• AlanA
• BenitaS
• ChrisK
• GaryR
• GrahamT
• HarryW
• JohnS
• MichelleG
• MikeT
• NeilF
• PaulB
• RoderickH
• SteveH
• SteveN

Others are welcome to attend, but will either need to arrange membership themselves (http://www.bedfontandfelthamfc.com/438059694) or be signed in each evening they attend and pay full bar prices.

Roderick Hoffman

Dream Mile 7th June 2018

Good conditions, dry and less headwind than usual made for some good times.

We welcomed Roderick back after his enforced break and his time has improved by about 30secs. On his second run James Greaves improved his time by 22secs (he didn’t need me to show him the way this time ). Ian and Matthew got close to the first sub-6 run here for 13months and Ian beat his time at the previous night’s Arethusa mile in Bushy Park by 3secs. We welcomed Tony Dolphin for his first run, apparently he could go sub-5 40 years ago so his first target was to get less than double that.  Well done Tony. Steve Hillier continues his improvement having run faster at every run so far and Steve Taylor continued his recent improvement after injury.  I went sub 7 for the first time at this run in over 2 years (I think).

Also thanks to Joe Nolan for turning up to take the end-of-run photographs. After dipping to a small handful of people we are now bolstered by attendance from more ex-BA people, sometimes outnumbering those still employed by the airline, and have a group of 12 or so ‘regulars’. Anyone is welcome - next run July 5th.

Neil Frediani

Club parkrun results for Saturday 9th June 2018

Dave Dixon (17:39) was our best runner this week as he powered out and back along the track at Hackney Marshes to be fourth over the finish line.  That was his best time so far this year after nine outings.  Dave’s pb at Hackney is 17:10 and was achieved on his first run there back in 2015.

Julie Barclay (21:58) had another birthday this week and celebrated in style by running straight to the top of the rankings in her new age group at Woking.  Proud coach Tom Rowley can no longer claim to be twice her age (or even half her speed!).  Those over 80 are invited to run at Bushy Park on 7th July and can claim a glass of Prosecco at the finish line.  Order in advance: rppk@btinternet.com .

Richard Ruffell (20:49) achieved a course pb at Rickmansworth where Mark Taylor holds the club record with 20:20. Barry Walters (22:09) was our first male runner to try the new course at Prospect Park (west of Reading).

Chris Kelly was a long way from Reading this week and took it very easy at Umhlanga near Durban in South Africa ahead of his attempt run in the Comrades (double) Marathon the following day.  See report of that adventure elsewhere. {Ed: Dave Dixon is labelled as our "best runner" so surely Chris is our worst? It does mean that those colleagues with "59:59" to their name know that there is someone in the record books with a slower time than them. Incidentally Chris' average parkrun time from 385 parkruns is 21:16 so over three times faster than his time on Saturday}

Former member Caroline Yarnell has entered for WARR this year and is warming up nicely through the Australian winter. Her 22:22 at Curl Curl in Sydney this week was her best of the year so far.  I assume once she starts drawing her pension she will be eligible to run for BA once again.
There were milestone runs this week for Joan Foxley (39:01 at Harrow) – 100 parkruns, Piers Keenleyside (38:48 at Evesham) – 200, Roderick Hoffman (28:41 at Bedworth) – 300.  We wish all of them the best of luck with the next 100.

Steve Newell

Updated parkrun stats - club parkrun stats

And Chris says

Hi Steve,

Very steady stroll up/down/back up Umhlanga beach parkrun today, ahead of Comrades tomorrow. Beautiful beach below Oyster Box hotel in front of the Lighthouse.

There were times when it was tight getting the 905 runners past each other on the first out and back section, but the spirit of parkrun got us all through ok. I was talking to regular tail walker Pauline, who lives here, but has done Reading previously! Small world.

Cheers, Chris Kelly

Dave vs Chris

I looked up Dave Dixon and Chris Kelly's parkrun achievements according to the Chrome utility. Chris wins hands down, now also even having a slower time than Dave (Dave's 36:45 was the previous slowest between them - achieved when Dave arrived over fifteen minutes after the start for his first parkrun).

But - what is the Green Badge that they have in common? Showing an alarm clock stuck on 09:00? That is the Groundhog Day badge awarded to any parkrunner who achieves exactly the same time at the same venue on consecutive runs. Both Dave and Chris have achieved that. It is a badge I will never win since I intend never to run at the same venue in consecutive weeks.

For the Chrome utility see: 2nd April back issue

Roderick Hoffman

And where has Adrian been? Nashville Music City Distance Carnival 2nd June

Just in - Comrades V2.0

This year I have been in thrall to the imperative to return to South Africa to run the Comrades Down Run from Pietermaritzburg back to Durban. Although it is called the Down run, it should perhaps be more accurately called the "Mostly Down" run, entailing the descent of 7100 ft as well as the ascent of 5100 ft amongst the 56miles.

Supposedly, it can be a faster run, but is probably a more painful one. Spurred on by the idea of posting a faster time I ran a steady London Marathon, taperless, and kept training, and enjoyed the Green Belt Relay, but not too much. 

We were based in Durban for the expo and  transferred up to Pietermaritzburg on Saturday afternoon, for a relaxed early night, to be up at 3 for a hearty breakfast, where I met Joyce from Kenya, who declared that we were entering a war zone! She was fun, and not wrong, and considering that she managed 10:24 one impressive 64year old lady. 

All I can say about the race at this point is that it was harder than I remembered from last year...  Same great start, great support, hilarious banter amongst the locals, runners, terrific water stations, coke suppliers, people handing out oranges, potatoes, salt, literally, and together. But it cannot be ignored that it's a long way, on hard roads, and my legs are not happy.

Still, I persuaded (forced) them to keep going/shuffling to get under 11 hours, and claim my most valued medal - the back-to-back. 

I think it's the most amazing event. When people go past you with green numbers, and the number of medals on are in the tens, twenties, thirties and forties, it's a humbling experience. Hopefully good. But for now the jury is out. We shall see.

Chris Kelly

Comrades Result:

•  Christopher Kelly,
• British Airways AC,
• Distance 90.184km,
• Time 10:29:15,
• 7,921st of 19,058 starters,
• 841st of 2506 starters in category,
• Medals: 2 (see picture).

Cranford Community College Event - 14th July

Tom's Diary

Running Shorts

• Dear Ed. New XC route for me. Longer, and more field 'paths' and a time of 37:40.  P.S. On my way I 'said' a word to Brian.  Andy Rayner.
• Apparently nobody else did anything of note.

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.