baRUNNER - a website for the British Airways Athletics Club

BA Athletics Club News Digest 18th July 2022

Events marked "#" are points scoring for the club's participation trophy - for the 2022 title.

Club Event Map: [Clickable link to Google Maps]

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

This Week's Events

This week's Great City Race was cancelled on Friday of last week due to the extreme weather forecast for the day. It was not considered safe for participants or marshals. It will probably be rearranged for a date later this year in which case we'll need to check the availability of volunteers and probably call in some substitutes.

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 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.

Weekly Athletic Achievement (by late Sunday) or use the Facebook group prompt:

Speedbird Ladies Race - Wednesday 3rd August #

Confirmed on Harmondsworth Moor for Wednesday 3rd August with a start time of 7pm.

We need:

• Ladies to sign up for the race (entry cost is frozen at the £7/£5 rate it was in 2019, though the package has been made smaller in size - e.g. no medals this year). Sign-up via: https://barunner.activetrainingworld.com/tc-events/speedbird-ladies-5k/ and check other details at: baRUNNER Event Ladies Race page.
• Men are asked to volunteer to marshal the course or man the finish, and may be able to check the course beforehand.
• Everyone is asked to promote the event - we are setting this up with just a few weeks' notice and for a date in the holidays that also clashes with the Yateley 10k so we need all of you to pass the message on.

I've prepared an A5 leaflet handout:

This could be forwarded as an attachment to a cover note: SpeedbirdLadies_Aug2022_A5_1.pdf

Or printed two at a time on an A4 printer for handing out at events: SpeedbirdLadies_Aug2022_A5_x2.pdf

Some of us are meeting at the traditional start area this Wednesday from 18:00 to check the condition of the course and the start/finish area.

> Roderick Hoffman (Speedbird Ladies Race Director)

PS Last time I checked we had six entries each representing a different club! I wonder which will have the first team entry of three runners.

British Airways Athletics Club 2022 AGM Outcome

Last week a group of members took part in one of the most important events of the calendar.  We heard about our successes during the past year, elected a new committee, and debated some issues of significance for the club going forward.  The full text is attached, and I would encourage you to read through them.

Full minutes: BAAC AGM2022 minutes.docx

Some items of significance include:

• Membership remains at around 100, with some new younger members balancing our aging population.
• Membership of BA Clubs has declined below 20, which is a concern.
• Our bank balance has declined a little, but is still healthy.  Investment has been made in events, entertainment and training.
• As a club, we continue to compete in and marshal many events during the year.
• There are plenty of opportunities to get involved with the committee in planning and running club events.
• The level of subs for 2023/4 was debated, and it was decided to remain at £9.

Steve Hillier

July Mile results

Five mile results this month including two from last week's Orchard mile and two from the weekly Arethusa Mile in Bushy Park. We were all slower than previously, but it has been hotter.

Track & Field 2022 – Week 4 #

Our final week of track competition saw an annoying clash between the Rosenheim League and the Vets League.  For the first time since we entered the Vets League ten years ago, we were forced to split our team across two locations. 

The Vets League at Perivale attracted five competitors, supported by Julie Barclay.  Steve Taylor made his track league debut in the 3000m, fitting the run into the middle of a long, hot, marathon training run from home.  Paul Watt also featured in this race, moving up from his more usual middle-distance track efforts, to take second place in his age group.  Steve Hillier once again threw the javelin, and for the first time this season competed in the Hammer throw and a track event.

The ladies were also well represented.  Janet Smith excelled in the field events, with big throws in Hammer and Javelin.  Fiona Bishop competed hard in the shorter 800m and 200m, then cruised seven-and-a-half laps as the boiling sun started to set.  This time it wasn’t Fiona breaking records, but Janet.  She improved her own club records in both throwing events.

Mike Ball and Ian Haylock were also flying the flag for BA, down south in the Rosenheim League at Walton. They produced some good times at opposite ends of the distance spectrum, in the stifling heat.

We await the final league tables for both leagues, although I suspect we’ve just missed out on the finals for both competitions.  Our small teams have produced some great performances over this short season, and enjoyed themselves. 

Vets League Track & Field, Perivale, 13th July 2022

Event	BAAC	Act.Group	Time/Distance	Position	Note
200m	Fiona Bishop	W60	44.9	5th W60
200m	Steve Hillier	M65	40.9	5th M60
800m	Fiona Bishop	W60	3:45.9	5th W60
3000m	Fiona Bishop	W60	15:37.9	3rd W60
3000m	Steve Taylor	M55	14:33.1	6th M35
3000m	Paul Watt	M55	11:22	2nd M55
Hammer	Janet Smith	W55	37.52	1st W50	3kg / CR
Hammer	Steve Hillier	M65	18.63	3rd M60	5kg
Javelin	Janet Smith	W55	17.85	2nd W50	500g / CR
Javelin	Steve Hillier	M65	15.15	5th M60	600g

Rosenheim League Track & Field, Walton, 13th July 2022

Thank you to everyone who has competed and supported during the short summer programme.  Our aim is to make more events available and encourage more BAAC talent to compete next summer.  Watch this space for details.

> Steve Hillier

This year's participation competition for the Tom Rowley Award

Competition is well underway with points having been awarded in 27 events up to the start of last week. Six club members who have already accumulated ten or more points - Benita Scaife, John Scaife, Roderick Hoffman, Stephen Taylor, Steve Hillier, and Steve Newell. Five more are on eight or nine points. At the top it looks like being the usual three horse race with me edging Mr. Newell by a single points and Mr. Hillier one further point behind.

Four points for an organiser, one point for running and two for being a non-running volunteer. The next points scoring events are marked with a "#" in the calendar - In August the Speedbird Ladies Race, the Club Featured parkrun at Rickmansworth and the Langley Park Orienteering event.

Roderick Hoffman 

Recent Activity Achievements

I picked up on 19 club members and friends reporting recent activity achievements this week.

Roderick Hoffman

parkrun Results for Saturday 16th July 2022

39 activities are recorded this week. Please get in touch if your activity is missing. If [*] appears in the comment then please ensure that you have paid your subs and let me know.

Blue is the Colour, parkrun is our aim

"Taylor brothers on tour again. Another different country, Wales, Prestatyn. John and Graham carrying injuries into the event, although John’s was during warm-up. So John started near the back with Graham, but he soon decided that it wasn’t that bad and finish 7th. The balloon was to celebrate the parkrun's 50th event, and someone had baked medals with “Parkrun 50” engraved. For info, there was a lady running who had done 79 consecutive park runs at all different venues, as was aiming to do 100 !!!!!."

Graham Taylor

Ed: Doing 100 different parkruns consecutively is impressive but more so if you do so from your first parkrun, called a "Bailey" after the first achiever - Alex Wilson had previously run at Isabel Trail several times before starting her run of different parkruns. At the event I ran, Edenbrook Country, there was a lady, Sue Conway, doing her 86th consecutive parkrun at a different venue so only 14 away from achieving her "Bailey". 41 runners have already achieved a "Bailey" (and 94 the "Hoffman" with 50 in 50).

Roderick adds:

A parkrun report this week might have focused on the different reasons for visiting particular parkruns. Many of us ran at our regular, local, home parkrun because, in short, that's what we want to do on a Saturday morning (though in Jain's case also to celebrate at home her 100th run). Others went to the nearest parkrun to where they are currently on family holiday. But many of us went further afield - Harjit to collect a new country, Melanie to collect a new initial letter, Trish for a specific event number and me so that I could walk a loop of the Basingstoke Canal as part of my Canalathon effort. It was by chance that Trish and I met...but I should still have taken a photograph!

Full club parkrun database - {read access to club parkrun database} - Download and explore.

Club Event Map: [Clickable link to Google Maps]

> Roderick Hoffman

Caption Competition

What is Adrian thinking or saying? Or perhaps someone chasing him has something to say? Or is it a shout from the crowd that has caught Adrian's attention?

Adrian:

"I could have sworn that this was the 800 metres!"

"I wonder what Jacqui has got us as a packed lunch?"

"I'm winning - is it Steve Cram in the commentary box?"

"Perhaps I should have a pre-race curry more often - they can't get close to me."

Runner number 2:

"Adrian's had a pre-race curry - we daren't get close to him."

From the crowd:

"Is your place available the first week of September?"

"It's BA on the phone - could you do the early shift tomorrow?"

[all of the above from me]

> Roderick Hoffman

Letters to the Editor

None

Next Digest - Results, news, pictures, feedback, jokes, stories - send them to the editor, Roderick Hoffman, at news@barunner.org.uk.

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