Once again I am able to confirm that the club’s committee is in favour of ourselves taking part in the above event for our 10th. successive year, in which we have won the corporate trophy seven times out of nine events so far.

The two day event starts from Hampton Court Palace at 08.30am on Saturday morning and finishes on Sunday evening at 18.00pm at Ham Sports Centre where the awards are presented.

There are 11 stages on Saturday and again on Sunday, each stage passing through lovely countryside, woods, towpaths, and bridleways, covering some 220 miles. Each runner will run a stage each day with distances for stages varying from 6 to 13 miles.

Most stay overnight at a motel, although some prefer to motor home and return the second day to complete their 2nd stage.

We need 3 cars (with drivers), 11 team runners and helpers, amounting to 15/16 members, so please consider joining us in our 10th year.

This will be my last year as captain, but not necessarily my last to compete in this thrilling and enjoyable event so let me know as soon as possible if you wish to take part in the event. Either telephone me on 01784 483424 or email at: brent.haven@virgin.net 

Regards to all,

Brian Bennett

PS. I would recommend you access the event website and see for yourself: www.greenbeltrelay.org.uk .

Hi guys the last match of the season took place on Wimbledon common on Saturday 9th February.

7 runners made it to the start line for BA on a very wet & muddy course.

After amended scores BA finished equal 4th on the day.

First over the line for BA was John Taylor (12th in div 4) followed by Gary Rushmer (23rd) and Graham Taylor (25th)

Thank you to all runners who have ran during the season where BAAC finished 3rd at the end of the season. Maybe next year with a full team at every meeting we could
go one better.

Individual match results for Wimbledon Div 4

Surrey League 9 Feb amended scores, version 2
Following corrections sent in by Martin LLoyd, changes in scores are presented anew. In Division 4 corrections have been made but the order is unchanged, apart from 4th/5th

Division 4 Result

Gary Rushmer.

• Personally rewarding as you contribute to the event’s success,
• You are able to watch the event from the best vantage point,
• If you know race participants you can often tell them exactly where you’ll be,
• No race training required and you can do a marathon and still have a night on the tiles afterwards,
• Food is usually thrown in for free and there can be T Shirts and other freebees also,
• Transportation to the event is often provided through coaches or train tickets,
• Your choice of role – some with responsibility; others just doing,
• By providing marshals the status of the club is enhanced,
• In some cases the club gets rewarded financially or with race entries,
• A chance to meet Joe Public in the flesh,
• If the weather is bad you can talk about it for years “You remember when it rained so hard that…”

Roderick Hoffman

2013 Virgin London Marathon Press Release

STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL 13.00 HOURS – SATURDAY 16TH FEBRUARY 2013 - PLEASE RESPECT THIS EMBARGO, WHICH IS FOR ALL MEDIA – PRINT, AUDIO, TV, ON-LINE, SOCIAL AND DIGITAL

MO FARAH TO RUN HALF THE 2013 VIRGIN LONDON MARATHON

Britain’s double Olympic champion Mo Farah will get his first taste of an elite marathon on 21 April when he runs the first half of the 2013 Virgin London Marathon alongside some of the greatest marathon runners of all time.

The Olympic 5000m and 10,000m champion has agreed to make his full marathon debut at the 2014 London Marathon and will use this year’s race to prepare himself for the challenge of tackling 26.2 miles. Farah’s aim is to test himself against the best in the world while becoming familiar with the London course.

He will start with the elite men’s field and run to half way in the company of athletes such as marathon world record holder Patrick Makau, Olympic champion Stephen Kiprotich and world champion Abel Kirui. The line-up contains six of the 10 quickest men of all time, and four previous London Marathon winners, including reigning London champion Wilson Kipsang and course record holder Emmanuel Mutai.

Farah’s appearance represents something of a homecoming for the west Londoner who enjoyed some of his earliest victories on the national stage when he won the London Mini Marathon three years in a row as a schoolboy between 1998 and 2000.

The London Marathon supported Farah’s career as he developed into a world-beating athlete, going on to win two gold medals at the 2010 European Championships and claiming the world 5000m title before his double Olympic triumph at London 2012.

The London Marathon in conjunction with UKA have provided continuous support for the High Altitude Training Centre in Iten, Kenya where many British endurance runners train, especially Farah who is a regular visitor, and this centre has now evolved into a recognised international athletics endurance training centre hosting athletes from all around the world.

The London Marathon have supported St. Mary’s University College for over 10 years and since 2010 has funded the St Mary’s Endurance Performance and Coaching Centre (EPACC) in partnership with St. Mary’s and England Athletics. The annual Virgin London Marathon Young Athlete Camp is held there each summer.

Farah, a former student at St Mary’s for 10 years, lived in the house bought for St. Mary’s by the London Marathon, which provides athletics students at the college with accommodation. Farah trained and ran on the college track, funded also by the London Marathon.

Farah said: “As a young boy growing up in London it has always been my ambition to run the London Marathon. I won the Mini Marathon when I was younger and have watched the race every year for as long as I can remember."

“I will make my marathon debut in the 2014 London Marathon but will run the 2013 race to half way as part of my preparation for 2014. It will allow me to understand the course and the systems I will need when I run the full distance.

“To run as the double Olympic champion makes it even more special. Dave Bedford and the London Marathon have always been there for me and it will be my pleasure to run my first marathon in London.”

Farah already has considerable experience on the roads. He holds the national record for 10km and has won the Bupa London 10,000 four years in a row. He made his half marathon debut in 2011 when he won the New York City half marathon in 60:23, another British record.

London Marathon race director Hugh Brasher welcomed Farah’s decision to join the 2013 race.

“We are delighted that Mo wants to run with our elite runners this year,” said Brasher. “We have been following and supporting Mo’s career since he first won the Mini London Marathon 15 years ago and are full of anticipation for his marathon debut in 2014."

“Hopefully, his experience of the race, the route and the unique atmosphere of the London Marathon will stand him in good stead when he takes on the full race next year. We are sure he will gain some valuable insights and come back fully prepared for the challenge.”

Leadership in Running Fitness Course

I recently attended a ‘Leadership in Running Fitness’ Course provided by UK Athletics/Run England. This covered the following:

• Looking at barriers to running and how to overcome those barriers
• How to develop a session & session components including risk assessment, safety, goals and reviewing practice
• Managing groups to include all abilities
• Session planning, different activities to include, importance of variety
• Goal setting – How to set and use personal goals
• Warming up and cooling down
• Correct stretching for running
• Common injuries and injury prevention
• Footwear – the basics
• Being a leader – what’s expected of you

This was not a specific coaching course, but some details of those elements and the use of standard training plans were covered.

I am now qualified (but yet to put into practice!) with the skills and insurance needed (provided by Run England) to deliver fun and safe sessions to groups of runners with different abilities, including new runners and those who already run but want to progress. I can also register running groups, whatever form it takes, as an Official Run England Group and receive any support needed.

I may not be a particularly fast or accomplished runner but do find it fulfilling to help others improve. I have helped and paced quite a number of parkrunners to improve their performances in the last couple of years.. One of my roles at work has always included coaching/mentoring engineering students, and I have also done a lot of tennis coaching. I would like to focus mainly on beginner/improver level runners. And last, but not least, I hope to manage my own running better and reduce injuries !

Joe Nolan

Track&Field Level 2 Officials Course - Sunday 17th March at The Ashcombe School, Dorking

Details of the course are on the SCAA website on the Officials page (click here to reach that), where you can find links to the England Athletics website where the bookings need to be done. The course is being organised by SCAA in conjunction with the local club, Dorking & Mole Valley A.C. (my thanks to John Barron for setting the ball rolling there) and the South Surrey Athletics Network (SSAN), following successful collaborations between SCAA and the other two Athletics Networks that are based in Surrey.

With the 2013 Track & Field season fast approaching, there is no better time for every club to be planning their officials’ resources. As you will know, many Leagues require participating clubs to provide qualified officials on the day and some award or deduct points if that is not done. While many clubs provide an effective mentoring process to their officials, SCAA will be pleased to assist by involving new officials at County events, where they can receive additional on-the-day mentoring for experienced officials.

Remember that places must be booked directly with EA and that there is no requirement to attend a Level 1 course before doing Level 2. Level 1 is now mainly aimed at young officials, as well as those who are not yet ready to decide the discipline (Field, Timekeeping &c) in which they initially wish to specialise. For adults, I would normally suggest going straight to Level 2, as that will entitle them, having got their licence, to officiate without supervision by another, more senior official (assuming of course that they are comfortable to do so).

I will be more than happy to assist officials who have attended the course with completing the paperwork and gaining the four experiences that are required to obtain their Level 2A licence (there is some useful information on the EA website re this here). At the end of the day, it is clubs which are the main users of officials and – through parents of young athletes, retired athletes and others – the primary source of those who may become officials. So, please support this event: it has been arranged mainly for the benefit of clubs and will not go ahead unless the numbers that EA require sign up for it.

This course is open to aspiring officials from anywhere in the UK. Similarly, especially if 17th March is not a convenient day for any of your volunteers, they may wish to consider the course being run at Lewes by Sussex AA on Sunday 3rd March (details on EA website here). As noted on the SCAA website, Camberley A.C. are also looking to arrange a course on 16th March – details will go on the EA website. I am not currently aware of any similar courses being planned in the area until after the summer season.

So I overtook Barry this week - now will he ever manage to overtake me back?  You would have thought that he would because he runs half as fast again as I do but consider this... 

• If I start off 100 metres ahead of Barry then by the time he has got to where I was I will have already got a further 67 metres down the road. 
• And by the time he covers that 67 metres I'll have managed another 45 metres. 
• He'll quickly cover that 45 metres but I'll still be 30 metres ahead.
• Barry will do 30 metres but I'll have travelled 20.
• So no matter what by the time Barry gets to where I was I'll have moved on and he'll never get to pass me!

Roderick Hoffman