baRUNNER - a website for the British Airways Athletics Club
BA Athletics Club News Digest 17th July 2023
Events marked "#" are points scoring for the club's participation trophy - for the 2023 title. Club Event Map: [Clickable link to Google Maps] For future weeks: inclusions, with photos, please to Roderick Hoffman at news@barunner.org.uk. Results for Next WeekPlease 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 (please submit your July Mile performance by the end of the month):Run one mile and send me your time or add the details to the prompt in Facebook. The mile can be 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: [no need to submit if your best mile is the pre-AGM mile or one of the Arethusa miles (see below)].
Weekly Athletic Achievement (by Sunday evening) or use the Facebook group prompt:
Arethusa Mile - Club run Wednesday 26th JulyFor those yet to submit a mile time for July, or for those who think they might be able to improve on their pre-AGM mile time, we will be having a club run at the Arethusa Mile in Bushy Park next week. The Arethusa Mile is a free organised weekly run on a road circuit mainly around the Arethusa Statue Fountain near where the Bushy Park parkrun starts. If you haven't run this event before then you need to be there by 7:15pm to pre-register, my advice is to aim to be there by 7. The actual race starts at 7:30pm. The Bushy Park carparks should be open until 8:30 but if you want a leisurely departure then use the Clapperstile car park - accessible from Queens Road, Teddington - and then enter Bushy Park on foot via Clapperstile Gate and have a one mile warm-up to the start of the event. More details on request. Big Half 2023 Sunday 3rd SeptemberAs you know, our club supports the London Marathon Events organisation in marshalling five events during the year. On Sunday 3rd September we have been invited to return to Greenwich. We will be looking after the pedestrian crossing close to the end of the Big Half race at the Cutty Sark. This year, the race incorporates the trial for the World Road Race Championships. Whilst the day may be hectic, it is fun and rewarding, and gives you the best possible view of the race. We need twenty volunteers who are prepared to give up their valuable time. We will lay on transport from Bedfont to Greenwich, alternatively the venue is well served by public transport. Please could check whether you are available for this event, and contact me as soon as possible, so that we can put together a marshalling team. Thank you, Track & Field 2023 – almost thereLast Wednesday we competed in our final Vets League fixture at Perivale, with our largest team of the summer. Six of us did battle with the likes of Hillingdon AC and Serpentine AC, and we came away with a couple of wins and some new club records. Fiona led the way with three track events. She placed second in all three races, and subject to verification, broke her own club V60 records in each event. Some controversy raged when it appeared she had been relegated to 3rd in the 3000m, only for it to be pointed out that one of the runners who had “beaten” her still had a lap to go! Steve T jogged from home to compete in the 800m and 3000m. Strangely, he had a similar experience to Fiona in the 3000m. The timekeepers tried to persuade him to run an extra lap, which would have relegated him a place. Steve’s quick thinking and watch recording demonstrated to the officials that he was not going to run 3400m, thanks very much. Mike has been a regular for the team throughout the summer, and continued with his consistent strong runs over the sprint distances. No controversies for the field eventers. Janet came close to her own W55 club record in the Hammer in winning the event comfortably. Sean continued to show his strength in the hammer with a second place, and achieved yet another win in the high jump. Steve H, after gaining some tips from a Hillingdon AC competitor, threw a season’s best in the Javelin. He closed the evening by throwing himself into a sandpit at moderately high speed. We finished the season in 8th place in both men’s and ladies’ tables, but this last match proved how close we can run the opposing clubs with just a few more athletes. Vet’s League Track & Field, Battersea 12th July 2023
SCVAC League 2023 Final League Table |
| Position | MEN | Match points | Event points |
| 1 | Serpentine | 30 | 714 |
| 2 | Hillingdon | 27 | 711 |
| 3 | Thames Valley Harriers | 26 | 630 |
| 4 | Herne Hill Harriers | 21 | 624 |
| 5 | Metros | 15 | 390 |
| 6 | Ealing Eagles | 11 | 188 |
| 7 | Ealing Southall & Middlesex | 9 | 134 |
| 8 | British Airways | 5 | 82 |
| Position | WOMEN | Match points | Event points |
| 1 | Hillingdon | 31 | 714 |
| 2 | Serpentine | 29 | 700 |
| 3 | Ealing Southall & Middlesex | 20 | 314 |
| 4 | Metros | 18 | 253 |
| 5 | Herne Hill Harriers | 17 | 396 |
| 6 | Thames Valley Harriers | 15 | 236 |
| 7 | Ealing Eagles | 10 | 150 |
| 8 | British Airways | 3 | 68 |
Our final match of the summer is the Rosenheim League, St Mary's Twickenham on Wednesday July 19th. Please let me know if you are available.
I've still got some of the 40th anniversary kit available. Let me know if you are interested.
The price in brackets is the discount price for members who haven't previously bought a discounted sweatshirt/T Shirt. Anticipate a modest postage cost unless you expect to be at a club event for free collection.
Other kit, including running vests, are available via Paul Knechtl.
12 members' achievements were communicated to me. Your achievement not listed? It could be because you didn't submit it.
| Colleague | Activity | Distance | Course | When | Duration | Comments |
| Andy Rayner | Various | A mish-mash of reports due undertaking a lot of house & garden work. Tuesday 11 July - XC in 62minutes. Wednesday 12 July - cycle my estate and Ockwells in 12minutes. Sat 15 July - cycle Ockwells plus my estate twice 11:45 and 9:58. | ||||
| Benita Scaife | Walking | Swiss Alps | Photo shows Benita beginning the descent from the Cabane D’Arpitettaz (2,786 metres) which can be seen in the background, to our lodgings for the night at Cabane de Petit Mountet… | |||
| John Scaife | Walking | Swiss Alps | ...The mountain in the distance is the west face of the mighty Weisshorn 4,505m. | |||
| Emma Moreton | parkrun | 5km | Homewood | Sat am | 00:23:01 | Homewood parkrun first female and course PB (taking just over a minute off previous PB) |
| Jain Reid | Race | Half-M | Fairlands Valley (Spartans Club) trail run | Sun | 02:57:53 | Using maps on Garmin for the first time - a godsend even with written instructions! Only got lost a few times but non-running time ended up around 16 mins as checking map and instructions. Lovely run, saw Kites (bird variety) and lots of butterflies. Home made bread pudding at aid stations! |
| James Edwards | Ultra-run | 37.1km | Eiger E35 - North Face Trial | Sat | 08:55:26 | [we haven't heard from James but this was his plan for the weekend and his name appears in the results - 4mins 34 inside the announced cut-off time] |
| Julie Barclay | Running | 8miles | Farnborough Airfield and Rushmoor | Sun am | 01:18:00 | Early morning quiet run before time-keeping and finish token duties at Queen’s Parade junior parkrun |
| Paul Watt | Running | 8miles | Farnborough Airfield and Rushmoor | Sun am | 01:18:00 | As Julie |
| Melanie Miller | Walking | 5.85km | Durham | Sat | 01:41:47 | This was me "snooping" around Durham…not a long walk but I do like the art work created a sort of Snoopy looking pic…lol |
| Petra Otto | Various | Not much to report, as I received my back injections. Before that another, very tough circuit, with ‘rest’ after each station being 1/2 a minute of plank, three laps. | ||||
| Roderick Hoffman | Running | 5.6km | Northala Fields | Tue | 00:41:00 | A beast of a run - 3 years in the planning, because it's taken Ealing Council that long to repair/rebuild the canal footbridge I needed for this design. |
| Steve Hillier | Running | 5.5km | Yeading Brook trail | Sun am | 00:41:05 | It was windy but dry. A reasonable start, first mile in 10:55, but I slowed towards the end. |
Roderick Hoffman
34 activities are recorded below. Please get in touch if your activity is missing.
| Club parkrunner | parkrun 10th June | Run# | Pos | Time | Age Grade | Comment |
| Ray HAMPTON | Barnstaple | 462 | 133 | 0:33:16 | 61.72% | run #28, park #19, New BA park #745 |
| Bob BANNISTER | Bedfont Lakes | 650 | 41 | 0:26:49 | 63.14% | run #467, 340th at Bedfont Lakes |
| Joe NOLAN | Black Park | 668 | 270 | 0:31:33 | 54.68% | run #428, 383rd at Black Park |
| Piers KEENLEYSIDE | Bournemouth | 436 | 201 | 0:27:40 | 61.20% | first run at Bournemouth, park #63 |
| Paul WATT | Brockwell | 550 | 30 | 0:21:18 | 74.02% | park #150 |
| Julie BARCLAY | Brockwell | 550 | 93 | 0:24:15 | 78.90% | Best BA Age Grade (the Ruffell's retain best times), park #153 |
| Ian CUNNINGHAM | Bushy Park | 939 | 491 | 0:26:10 | 61.27% | |
| Paul TIMMS | Cirencester | 202 | 36 | 0:24:13 | 66.21% | |
| Ben CHAYTOW | Crane Park | 514 | 10 | 0:22:44 | 62.83% | run #340 |
| Alastair HESLOP | Guildford | 478 | Timekeeper at Guildford | |||
| Melanie Miller | Hamsterley Forest | 79 | 25 | 0:43:03 | 41.50% | run #150, first at Hamsterley (Bishop Auckland), park #124, New BA park #746 |
| Mike DENNISON | Hanworth | 143 | 5 | 0:20:28 | 81.92% | missed his agegroup record at Hanworth by 9 seconds |
| Maria JOVANI | Hanworth | 143 | 10 | 0:22:59 | 70.49% | F2, run #410, 12th at Hanworth |
| David DUGGAN | Hanworth | 143 | 43 | 0:34:43 | 47.43% | plus set-up and first timers welcome |
| Denis FOXLEY | Harrow | 356 | Run Director at Harrow | |||
| Joan FOXLEY | Harrow | 356 | Timekeeper at Harrow | |||
| Alice BANKS | Higginson, Marlow | 155 | 98 | 0:29:14 | 71.49% | run #231, 56th at Marlow |
| Emma Moreton | Homewood | 284 | 9 | 0:23:01 | 67.34% | Ist lady. PB by over a minute on her 17th run at Homewood |
| Harjit Jhooti | Houghton Hall | 217 | 132 | 0:31:56 | 55.95% | first run at Houghton Hall, park #89 |
| Sarah GORDON | Leicester Victoria | 324 | 248 | 0:37:29 | 55.76% | |
| Benita SCAIFE | Maidenhead | 364 | 210 | 0:33:50 | 63.69% | |
| John SCAIFE | Maidenhead | 364 | 211 | 0:33:51 | 51.50% | run #299 |
| Petra OTTO | March | 307 | Marshal at March | |||
| Stephen K TAYLOR | Northala Fields | 402 | 110 | 0:27:47 | 57.71% | five weeks in a row at Northala Fields |
| Oliver MATHAI | Osterley | 432 | 90 | 0:26:31 | 65.74% | Another PB, by 3 seconds. |
| Trish MCCABE | Osterley | 432 | 97 | 0:26:52 | 59.68% | 50th run at Osterley |
| Alan ANDERSON | Osterley | 432 | 286 | 0:45:18 | 60.15% | run #666 |
| Christopher T KELLY | Reading | 599 | 51 | 0:23:43 | 66.48% | Reading celebrating 600th next week |
| Ben Kelly | Reading | 599 | 125 | 0:27:31 | 46.94% | |
| Jain REID | Richmond Park | 764 | 252 | 0:33:03 | 55.52% | run #138, 129th at Richmond |
| Roderick HOFFMAN | Stockley Country | 27 | Scanning at Stockley Country | |||
| David Cowell | Stockley Country | 27 | Finish Tokens at Stockley Country | |||
| Fiona Bishop | Woking | 375 | 85 | 0:24:58 | 81.17% | 98th run at Woking |
| Micheal BALL | Woking | 375 | 134 | 0:27:15 | 59.39% | run #194, 172nd at Woking |
Mike Dennison (20:28, 81.92%) was our fastest parkrunner this week, coming in 5th at Hanworth. It wasn’t a course pb (missed by 9 seconds) but he leads his age group there by over a minute.
Almost as good in age-grade terms came Fiona Bishop (24:58, 81.17%) as she completed her 98th run at Woking which celebrated run #375. She has avoided nearly all the Fibonacci numbers so far. Good Girl!
Emma Moreton (23:01) was the first lady home at Homewood, chopping over a minute off her previous best there. Oliver Mathai (26:31) shaved another three seconds off his previous best at Osterley.
Our members made a first visit to two previously ignored UK parkruns this week. Ray Hampton (33:16) was at Barnstable and that time puts him 27th out of 41 in his age group there. Melanie Miller (43:03) was about as far away at the opposite end of England as possible at Hamsterley Forest in County Durham.
Paul Watt (21:18) reached the 150 parks milestone at the undulating Brockwell parkrun, Herne Hill, South London.
Steve Newell
Full club parkrun database - {read access to club parkrun database} - Download or save a copy, and explore at your leisure.
Club Event Map: [Clickable link to Google Maps]
Roderick Hoffman
Next Digest - Results, news, pictures, feedback, jokes, stories - send them to the editor, Roderick Hoffman, at news@barunner.org.uk.
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