baRUNNER - a website for the British Airways Athletics Club

BA Athletics Club News Digest 15th March 2021

 For future weeks: inclusions, with photos, please to Roderick Hoffman at news@barunner.org.uk.

Unrestricted races are currently off so the club continues to operate with Solo and Shared runs as listed above - for restrictions and advice see the Coronavirus footnote at the end of this digest.  Due to the Tier 4 lockdown all shared runs are off the agenda until at least 29th March. Hopefully shared runs will restart then, including with the Winter Handicap run on Wednesday 31st March.

Club Event Map: [Clickable link to Google Maps]

Roderick Hoffman

This Week's Events

Please help me by sending in your results, for instance by filling in the tables below and forwarding to News@barunner.org.uk. Some events, such as the weekend achievement, 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.

Weekend Achievement (by 5pm on the Monday) or use the Facebook prompt that will be added on Friday:

Roderick Hoffman

"Midweek" Challenge - Spring Equinox 5k on Saturday morning

At 09:37 on Saturday 20th March the northern hemisphere switches from what has been a dreadful winter into what will, hopefully, be a glorious summer. To celebrate we are holding an event to spring from winter into summer. Please join in:

Date – Saturday 20th March / Time – 09:30AM / Course – a 5k course near you.

Traditionally BAAC has held an autumn Equinox 5k run but in the absence of the ability for us to meet up and run together will he holding a virtual spring Equinox 5k simultaneous run/race instead.

The Spring Equinox 5K virtual race is scheduled to start at 9:30am on the 20th March. All runners should be prepared to start at the same time. The only exception will be for key workers or shift workers who, if they ask really nicely, will be allowed to complete their 5k run beforehand (NOT after) to get their time included in the results.

You will need to plan a 5k route near to where you live. The route needs to be as close to 5k as you can make it so use a GPS watch or route mapping website to create your 5k route and be familiar with your route and where the start and finish point is. Or use your GPS watch as you run so that you know when you have covered 5k. Under current Covid-19 restrictions you could meet up and exercise in your family group or with one other runner. Runners will mostly be running different routes so even if you run around a playing field it won't be a level playing field. A nearby parkrun course may be an option chosen by some runners - but try to avoid others doing a (not)parkrun.

All runners will need to be able to use WhatsApp and have access to it at the start and end of the race. Email Steve Taylor the following details at least two days before the event and preferably earlier. Entries by the end of Thursday 18th March.

Send this information:-

Name – Age (on 20th March) – Gender – Mobile number.

Steve will create a WhatsApp group of all the runners specifically for this race and the start of the race will be announced on this group.  You will be given a runner number by Steve to use in the WhatsApp group. Remember your runner number, you will need it to announce when you finish the race, there won’t be any bibs.

• At 9:30am on race day the start will be announced with a GO message on WhatsApp at exactly 9:30am. There will be countdown messages from half an hour before and leading up to the start so that you’re prepared and can check that you’re receiving messages.
• Start running as soon as the GO message is received and not before.
• Once you have finished your 5k run, message the WhatsApp group with just your runner number, e.g. "22" (no times, no pictures, just your number).

The order that the runner numbers appear in the group will be the provisional finish order of the race so once you have completed your distance and stopped your watch you need to grab your phone and message your number as quickly as possible. The only exception is for key workers and shift workers who can submit their time to Steve beforehand if they are unable to run at 09:30 on the 20th due to work commitments - BUT to avoid disqualification don't tell anyone else your time.

After all of the runners have finished the race Steve will message that the race is ended and runners can then message him with their number and finish time for him to crosscheck with and include in the final results, e.g. "Runner 22 – Time 25:45 - at Bedfont Lakes". Don’t message your time until the race is ended to avoid any congestion on the messaging group. Steve will merge the times with times from any key workers and message back the full results.

The winner and/or gender age group winners will receive top bragging rights and a place of mention in the BAAC digest.

The WhatsApp group will be deleted within two weeks of the end of the race.

This is the same format that was used back in May last year.

Steve Taylor (SteveT@barunner.org.uk)

Track is Back - Summer 2021!

Yes, it’s true, a new season of Track & Field is almost upon us.  After a year of lockdown and limited activity, we hope to return to track action this spring and summer.  We can offer competition for all standards, whether you are a beginner, a star sprinter, a field athlete, or a veteran.  Please come along and enjoy something from the T&F menu.

We compete in the Rosenheim League, and in Southern Veterans League.  The latter gives a chance for everyone from 35 to 95 to compete against their peers in age graded events.  These are all located in the West London area.

Here are the planned Veteran’s dates for this summer:

• Mon 10th May, at Battersea track,  hosted by Serpentine AC
• Mon 7th June,  at Uxbridge track,   hosted by Hillingdon AC
• Mon 21st June, at Battersea track, hosted by Herne Hill Harriers
• Wed 7th July,   at Perivale track,    hosted by Ealing Southall & Middlesex AC

Rosenheim League matches are being proposed for Wednesday 30th June (Battersea) and also July, August and September dates.

All are yet to be confirmed and are subject to progress along the government roadmap but we are looking forward to seeing you there!

We will also be announcing some track&field training sessions shortly.

Steve Hillier and others

Dates will be added to the diary soon (hint!)

2021 Virtual Relay London Marathon - BAAC Results

I was the first runner off at 08:00 and I was nervous as I gathered at the start line knowing that I had a virtual crowd of 16 other runners around me. Perhaps that spooked me a little since I ran slower than I had done in my March mile earlier in the week. However the BAAC team was very quickly ahead of schedule - Jain had predicted her time for a "MAF" run but I suspect that idea went out of the window as the adrenalin of a real event kicked in. Our total predicted time had been 3:46 but we actually finished in 3:32:10. Jacqui Burke was most accurate in her prediction - being just four seconds out. Jacqui was one of six from Hillingdon Triathletes welcomed to complete our team - my appeal last week had brought in the last two runners we needed and whilst some others then offered it was too late to adjust the teams and include them. Please heed the lesson!

We ran at different places - for instance I was at the Spikes Bridge (not)track, the Stenhams had a four leg relay at Feltham track, Harjit was outside the BA Club base.

As a team we finished down "The Mall" in seventh place. All seventeen teams finished with Selby Striders finishing first in 2:47:48. That was less than half the time of the slowest team...but it wasn't all about speed.

Joe Nolan, overall organiser, writes: "I’m really lost for words on how well it has gone …it became a true marathon festival that has been rolling for many weeks already and I am sure for many more in our minds, and a great distraction from the daily grunge-news and the other thingy ! Time to celebrate now, everyone who took part is a top class winner and achiever and should be proud of themselves."

Thanks in particular to the BAAC team manager and WhatsApp coordinator Steve Newell assisted by Jacqui Burke for the Hillingdon Triathletes.

Roderick Hoffman

Amanda Coombs put together the montage of photographs and Jacqui Musselwhite also writes...

"Yesterday’s mile was great fun so thanks to all that organised it. It was good to wear the BA vest again. I think the last time I wore it was when we did the Virtual Marathon in 2020.

Tom Rowley [centre picture] had marked out a mile for me last Saturday in Woking Park which I practised on Saturday 13th but it had a 100m downhill start so I said I’d have to move the start forward 100m so that it wasn’t a ‘cheat’ mile as it needed to be flat. So good old Tom got to the park early Sunday to re-mark another flat mile route and it took him 40 minutes to measure the mile with his wheel and mark it all up and he pulled a muscle in the process. Bless him. So the mile route was perfect and I ran it with my 17 year old son Tom who managed his first ever mile in 6.12. I was about a minute later in 7.11 and Kay Trinder dropped in on her long run to help me along for the last lap but I managed a sprint finish weaving in and out of children on bikes and pushchairs! My daughter Vicki took control of the WhatApp."

February Solo Mile Results

I hadn't intended to include Sunday's mile performances in with this month's Solo Miles but I had my arm twisted. The table below includes those who did the relay mile and who have run four or more times since last April. Last April is when we started the monthly solo miles. Looking back over the twelve months 43 participants have recorded at least one run. Steve Hillier and I have managed to run every month. Michael Ball missed just the first one, Stephen Taylor and Denis Foxley have missed two and Melanie and Barry have missed three. Mike Dennison holds the best time with 05:40 and amongst the ladies Maria Jovani has 6:15.

The next mile will be in the week of 8th April and it is to be hoped that we'll have an in-person option that week.

BA Athletics Club Records - The Half Marathon

The table below shows the club records held for each age group for the Half-Marathon. To qualify as a record the event has to be competitive and timed and the runner has to be a paid-up member of the club and running in a club vest (or in an in-house organised event). Members for whom BA is a second claim club may need permission from their first claim club for them to run in a BA vest and claim the record (so the same performance cannot be claimed by two different clubs).

Last week I listed the full marathon. I've always considered that the full marathon and half marathons are very different events. This is shown perhaps by the fact that only one of us, John Williams, holds a record at both half and full marathon distances. John Coffey, I note, has been using a time machine to set some of these records. Either that or our record keeping is suspect (more likely).

The men's records appear to have been well contested but the ladies less so. If you know better please send us your claim - we want to get these in the best shape possible. New records or questions: Stats@barunner.org.uk .

Roderick Hoffman

*Andrew Eynon's achievement was flagged in issue 56 of Round-the-Block though there was no event write-up. But given the number and frequency of half-marathons in the 90s and 00s and scattered club participation that it not surprising.

Male Runners...

Club Crossword from 1991

The following crossword is from a Round-the-Block issue in early 1991. It was set by John Scaife. Some of the clues and answers may be somewhat localised and dated but the puzzle can still be attempted. I managed to get 15 answers but after a posting on Facebook last week a relatively recently joined colleague has said that they have completed it - so the pressure is on John and others!  I do have an answer sheet which I'll publish next week - and you can ask for clues on Facebook.

Coronavirus Warning Footnote [changes from last week underlined or struck-through] (no changes)

In the UK exercise outside is permitted because it will boost physical and mental health and because the risk of catching Coronavirus outdoors is very low provided social distancing advice is kept to.

• Do not exercise outside the house if you have been asked to isolate or you are unwell, particularly if you have symptoms of the coronavirus such as a fever, or if you share a house with someone who has these symptoms, or if you consider yourself to be vulnerable, such as being elderly or with pre-existing health conditions,
• You may drive to outdoor publicly accessible open spaces but you are advised to stay 'local' (defined as "in the village, town, or part of the city where you live."), you are also advised to minimise the amount of time spent outside your home and you should follow social distancing guidance whilst you are out. Further advice is to reduce public transport and shared car journeys and if reinstated do not cross the "Tier 3" boundary (in either direction).
• Current rules only allow you to exercise on your own, with people in your linked household (bubble), as part of child-care or with one other person. You are advised to exercise just once per day and to minimise the variety of people you meet over the weeks of lockdown. Exercising your pet is allowed in addition, but only on your own. The "Rule of Six" will be reinstated on 29th March so from then on informal groups of up to six (or two households) are allowed to meet outside and exercise together.
• As you exercise, keep 2m away from all others including those you run with as well as those you meet on the run, by default diverting around those you meet (don't leave it up to them to avoid you),
• Do not push yourself too far, this may weaken your defences against the virus and/or increase the probability of requiring assistance. We all have different limits so you need to judge what would be too far for you,
• If government instructions are updated to limit or prevent exercising outside your homes, or to meet with fewer people, please respect such instructions - we should be fighting the virus, not authority.

If you are unwell yourself, especially if you have symptoms of the virus:

• Put your needs first...
• but please let me (Roderick Hoffman) or Steve Hillier know of your condition/status, but we will keep it to ourselves unless you ask us to pass information on.

Shared club activities are not permitted until 29th March.  From then any club member may be permitted to organise a shared activity. We recommend the social distancing gap of 2metres although "1meter+" can be followed during the activity itself.  Until everyone has had the opportunity to be protected by the vaccine all participants should continue to follow the social distancing rules. To legitimize a run with more than six participants:

• The chairman (Roderick) or the secretary (Steve Hillier) must be notified in advance that the event is taking place,
• One of the participants must be a paid-up member of the BA Athletics Club and must be prepared to perform the duties of a "Covid-19 Coordinator", if more than six attend we recommend that that member wears a BAAC top or distinctive clothing,
• If the tiers are reintroduced then participants, and the activity, should not cross the "Tier 3" boundary or the "Tier 4" boundary (in either directions).
• A risk assessment has to be raised based on this template,
• The considerations within the risk assessment must be followed,
• After the activity perform a review of the risk assessment and log and pass on any issues or lessons learned.

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.