baRUNNER - a website for the British Airways Athletics Club

BA Athletics Club News Digest 11th May 2015

Events:

• Monday 18th May - Track&Field Grand Prix 1500m and Shot, Hillingdon Track
• Wednesday 20th May - CIE Crane Park 5k relay from 18:00 - see below
• Bank Holiday Monday 25th May - BUPA 10,000 marshalling - If you can help please mail Clara Halket

New members and non-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 May.

Running related gossip and chat: Facebook "BA Runner" (link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/636199849751546/).

This news digest is being sent to you because you are on the BA Athletics Club email list.  To be removed please email us at news@barunner.org.uk. Difficulty viewing this email? Read it off the website instead - http://www.barunner.org.uk/News Latest.shtml. 

Speedbird Ladies Key Results and good words

Result of the Open team competition

(3 competitors per team. Based on cumulative position)

Link to full results page: Event_Ladies_2015_Results.shtml

And what did the competitors have to say about the event?

• "The race is such a friendly event we love it. Thank you again for the cup I'm still beaming" Sally {The current trophy was full of names so we decided that it was appropriate to commission a new trophy (to be sent to Amanda) and since Sally had won the current trophy for the previous six years we gave it to her to keep},
• "Lovely surroundings and fabulous organisation. I certainly will come back next year. " Maria,
• "one of my favourite fixtures — lovely course, brilliantly marshalled, fab prizes, and so friendly! " Eugenie,
• "A great race, and very efficient results service." Sharon
• "The weather wasn't actually that bad to run in last night, I think it was worse for the marshals standing around, so please thank them from me." Barbara,

London Marathon Runners Update

To the end of last week's London Marathon Runners Story I could add a last line from Steve Taylor - "The only question now is, what next?"

The full stories from these club participants, including Steve, are on the website: http://www.barunner.org.uk/LM2015_runners_stories.shtml

Roderick Hoffman news@barunner.org.uk

World Airline Road Race Headquarters Hotel announced

The usual question to be asked is "Does the WARR rate represent value for money?"  I'll answer that by saying that you can book a much cheaper hotel, and probably nearby, and for that hotel to represent better value for your pounds.  However when I looked specifically at rates for the Jumeirah Creekside for the same period (and the previous week) the compatible online rates would appear to be 20% higher and to exclude Breakfast and may only be available if fully paid for in advance.  You'll also ask "Why isn't there a proper online booking process for this WARR rate?"

I suspect that the answer to that is that the hotel is contracted to guarantee that it's cheapest available online rates are made available to the major online booking websites consequently the hotel cannot provide a cheaper online booking process for WARR. 

I've converted the PDF in the link above to an editable Word document here so as an alternative to using printer ink and finding a pen you can fill this in including typing your name in the signature box, save it as a PDF, and attach it to an email to be sent to the two email addresses listed above. I did that last night and I've had a confirmation from the hotel already. 

Note that UK Citizens do not require an advance visa to enter Dubai and that if you want an airport transfer provided by the hotel they will charge you for it - Ron says that the taxi fare is about $11 US.

Roderick Hoffman

Wednesday 20th May - Crane Park Relay

Advance notice that next week we won't be meeting at the "Heston Venue formally known as the Concorde Centre" but instead will meet up, ready changed, in Crane Park for a relay race around the 5k parkrun course.  Eddie is master of ceremonies and will work out an interesting way to have two person teams.  Perhaps those who know the park might speculate that Eddie will have one of the pair going straight from the start point to the finish point whilst the other runs round the outside.  If so then those who don't know the park are advised to bring waders!

Details next week.

London Business Houses Bridges Relay 

The London Business Houses Bridges Relay will take place on Wednesday 17th June. The start time is 7:30 pm by Westminster Bridge.
Anyone interested in forming a BA team or two please let Richard Ruffell know ASAP, but certainly by 15th May.  Last year the entry filled up quickly so if we want to enter a team or two we need to move fast.

Thanks Richard Ruffell

For those who don't know this is a 4x2.3mile relay up and down the banks of the Thames in the heart of London - a great fun event and we end up in the pub afterwards as you might expect.

HOWEVER please note that we'll only enter this event if Richard gets enough volunteers AND if we manage to move the date of our AGM.  At the moment the two clash but we are checking room availability for an alternative date. So please volunteer to Richard AND pen in "Athletics" for the evening of Wednesday 17th June because you are needed in either event.

Roderick obo Club Committee

Club parkrun results for Saturday 9th May 2015

Our members were spread far and wide across west London and the South East this week and with the weather just a little bit milder there were some good times as some of the winter woolies were cast aside.

Denis Foxley made his second ever parkrun appearance at the inaugural Harrow parkrun (25:06) to establish a club best time there.  Roderick Hoffman notched up his 100th UK different parkrun and at the other end of the scale Joan Foxley made her parkrun debut.  The course is three and a bit laps with no serious hills to climb despite the nearest station being "Harrow-on-the-Hill"!  That took the club parkrun total to 169.  All the outer London boroughs now have a parkrun except for Hillingdon.

Steve Newell made his way up the hills to Riddlesdown for park 170 and found the cross country style course surprisingly flat for such a mountainous neighbourhood.  His time included precious seconds (maybe even a minute) spent exploring part of the woodlands not included on the established route!  

Steve Taylor, still on a high after his London Marathon, ran his fastest ever parkrun at Northala Fields (22:55), Alice Banks reduced the club record at Maidenhead to 25:15 and Sreeram Sethuraman lowered his parkrun pb to 25:39.

John Coffey continued his renewed interest in parkrun tourism and ventured to the course at Woking for the first time.  Barry Walters, now a gentleman of leisure, put in a strong performance at Richmond Park (20:05) where Bill Byrne sometimes runs.  We were robbed of a clash between the two former club treasurers as Bill went over to Gunnersbury and ran 20:04.  What might have been! {also see the Rowley report later on}

Black Park had hit the 500 runners mark the previous week but was slightly less crowded this time.  Tony Barnwell showed slightly better form as he joined the Joe Nolan 30 minute pace group.

Updated club parkrun stats: www.barunner.org.uk/results/ba_parkrun_park_totals.xls 

Steve Newell

Running at Harrow was Plan B for me - I had been due to travel out to Cieszyn parkrun in Poland which is the run that crosses into the Czech Republic.  I wasn't up to the travel last week so I'll reschedule that one for later in the year.  I'm also planning to do Livonia parkrun near Detroit on June 6th.  These runs are part of my ambition to have done parkrun in every country possible by the end of the year - a task made more challenging by the fact that parkrun is due to launch in Italy next Saturday (near Palermo on Sicily) and in France (near Boudeaux) perhaps in June.  Let me know if you want to join me on any of these trips.  Or to Russia or New Zealand!

I've also gone on record saying that I won't travel to an inaugural without a good reason.  Since I was minding a flat owned by my parents which is all of 400m away from the Harrow parkrun start my conscience is clear.  And for John Scaife's benefit I'll say that that by 400m I mean 400 metres.

Roderick Hoffman

Budapest Runway Run - 5th September 2015

We thought of doing this last year but didn't get enough interest.  This year may be different - I for one might give it a go.  Anyone else interested let me know.

 Roderick Hoffman

Running Shorts

Wot - no Green Belt?

It is the time of year for the Green Belt Relay and it IS on this year and we DO have a team entered in it to defend our Corporate title - you haven't seen reminders in the digest because we have a full team and we are busy getting ready to run it this coming weekend.  So please show interest in events when publicised - you might not get a second chance!

News for the next BAAC News Digest?

Please send items for inclusion in the next Digest.  Results, news, pictures, feedback, jokes, stories - send it to us at news@barunner.org.uk.

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Club website:

www.barunner.org.uk.