baRUNNER - a website for the British Airways Athletics Club

BA Athletics Club News Digest 21st September 2015

Events:

• Wednesday 23rd Club "Equinox" 5k 18:00 & Social with food 20:00 @ Heston Venue
• Wednesday 30th Brian's Relay 18:00 + Social 20:00 @ Heston Venue
• Thursday 1st October - October Magic Mile on the Bath Road 12:45

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 14th September.

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

No longer interested?  To be removed from the BA Athletics Club mailing list 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. 

New Club Resource - BAAC Events Map - using Google Maps

The following link should take you to a Google Map showing places and events of interest to BAAC members. You shouldn't need any specific Google account to view the content - but let me know if you do or if you experience any difficulties or have any questions or comments.  Note that this isn't just a map to look good - it is also practical because you can click on a featured location and request directions - including by public transport.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=z31P-sSECWno.kIIgdFzUuZAo&usp=sharing

I would hope to maintain this map from now on - but that does depend on you...

• Using it and finding it useful and letting me know,
• Providing location information relating to future events (e.g. postcodes for UK events),
• Offering to add content yourself (no one else currently has edit access but I could give them that.

Roderick Hoffman roderick@rhoff.org.uk

Equinox 5km - Wednesday 23rd September 2015.

The course for the 5km, being held on the correct date astronomically for once, will be the same as last year and there is a map on the notice board in the pavilion.

The start is near the Field of Hope roundabout (see BAAC Events Map) - specifically up the short stretch of southbound cycle track (east side), at the M4 junction 3 junction with Church Road. From there the course goes:

•  Up the central avenue of the Field of Hope before plunging down the northbound (west side) cycle track of the Parkway (A312) towards the roundabout at the bottom of the Hayes by-pass.
•  Follow the path round to the left and into North Hyde Road. 
• Cross over the River Crane (1 km) and turn left before "The Crane" PH into Watersplash Lane and through the swing gate into Cranford Park North (detached).
•  Follow the right hand path, initially through meadow, later it becomes a woodland trail and emerge at the entrance to the subway under the M4.
•  Run through the subway into Cranford Park and through the archway (cobbles). 
• Swing round to the left beyond the ranger's hut and into the church/playground car park (2km) and along Church Road towards the humpback bridge. 
• Through a gap in the fence on the right join the crushed gravel trail and follow round to the right alongside the River Crane. 
• After 200-300m take a left over the footbridge and then right and emerge into Avenue Park (2.5km). 
• Follow the crushed gravel path for the full length of Avenue Park and exit the park at the southern end, turning left into Park Lane.
• Left again into Cranford High Street and continue to the junction with The Parkway. 
• Follow the path round to the left (not over the footbridge) (4km) and follow the path/cycle track up the northbound side of the Parkway. 
• The finish line will be on the upslope in the Field of Hope (if dry) or under the shelter of the M4 overhead carriageway (if wet).

There will be wave starts as follows:

• 9 mins (+) per mile runners at 6.15 p.m.
• 8 min milers at 6.19
• 7 min milers at 6.23
• Elite start at 6.26

Please try to be at the pavilion by 6 p.m. to register.

Food at the clubhouse (Washington room) at 8 p.m. Fish Pie.

Steve Newell

The Surrey League Ladies Cross Country season

The Surrey League Ladies Cross Country season starts on Saturday, 10 October at 1200 noon.  Calling all lady runners to put your skates on.. I mean, put your trail shoes on, and come have some fun.  The dates and venues for our 4 matches are below. Please put these in your diaries and I look forward to seeing turn out for 2 teams!

Ladies Surrey Cross Country League 2015/2016 Season

Dates and Venues (All matches are on a Saturday and start at 12 noon)

• Match 1 – 10 Oct 15 – Roundshaw Common, aka Roundshaw Playing Fields, South Beddington
• Match 2 - 07 Nov 15 – Walton (Walton AC)
• Match 3 – 16 Jan 16 – Priory Park, Reigate (Priory Park AC)
• Match 4 – 13 Feb 16 – Richmond Park (Ranelagh Harriers)

Clara

Ed: As soon as I have the postcodes for these and the Men's cross country events I'll add these to the Club Event Map.

WARR Prices

Registration and Awards Dinner fees will both go up by $20 from 30th September.  This means that from 1st October, the costs will be:

• Race: $70
• Awards Dinner: $80

The Awards Dinner Registration bug has been cleared: It is now possible to register for the Awards Dinner without the mandatory registration for the race 

Race registration will close on October 10th 2015, there will not be onsite registration available.

The race course in a flat coastal promontory park called Mamzar Beach about 8k north of the hotel/airport.

Key WARR locations are marked on the BAAC Events Map.  Don't forget to tell me if you think that you might make it this year. If you haven't had an email from me this week then I don't know that you are coming!

Roderick Hoffman roderick@rhoff.org.uk

Club parkrun results for Saturday 19th September 2015

Following a week of showers, some of them quite heavy, the weekend weather poffered some improvement for many of our runners.
Adrian Haines topped the bill this week with his first parkrun since last December.  He is a member of several other running clubs including Horsham Joggers so he was almost on home ground when he stormed round Horsham parkrun this week to finish 3rd overall in 18:18, certainly a new course record as far as we are concerned.  His best ever parkrun time is 17:27 at Brighton & Hove, a whisker faster than the 17:28 Paul Knechtl once ran at Bushy Park.  The best ever by a BA runner is 17:10 by Dave Dixon at Hackney Marshes earlier this year.  Katherine Henville's best is 18:52 at Bushy. 

Roderick Hoffman visited a new parkrun for the club, Lullingstone in Kent.  It is not a flat course as those who have competed in the Green Belt relay will be aware.  That takes the club total to 197.  It all started for us with John Coffey cycling over to Bushy Park on Christmas Eve back in 2005 to see what the Bushy Park Time Trial as it was then known was all about.  He came 65th out 128 in 20:20, a time on which he improved by three seconds four weeks later for his one and only pb at Bushy.

Sreeram Sethuraman who normally runs at Upton Court visited Coventry this week to set a new club record (26:35).  Course pbs this week for Benita Scaife (29:12) at Wycombe and Steve Newell (30:46) at Dulwich.  Steve actually ran quite a bit faster and the results may be revised (or they may not be).

parkrun founder Paul Sinton-Hewitt was at Dulwich along with a camera crew and he made a short speech about the partnership with ARUK (Alzheimers Research UK). I've already forgotten exactly everything he said but he mentioned something like donating a pound for every minute spent at parkrun.  For older slower people that could be a sizeable chunk of the state pension so let's just hope I misunderstood the message.  Apparently drugs are being developed to help with the problem.  Another pill to take everyday.
Do you live to run or run to live? 

The older than most roving pb merchant, Tony Merritt of Burnham Joggers, I have mentioned a few times seems to be on a new mission.  This week he was the volunteer tail runner at Upton Court.  Maybe he plans to set a record for the most different parks a person to have volunteered at.  He had also been a volunteer at Maidenhead and Bracknell already this month.  People get a mention in the Guinness Book of Records or even an MBE for many strange achievements.

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

Steve Newell

Approaching 200

We made a big fuss as we approached 100 club parkrun venues. The reason we aren't doing so for 200 is because you don't get a shirt for 200!  The next recognised parkrun milestone is 250 which we'll probably reach next Spring. But 200 different parkruns will be a great achievement for the club so please feel free to sprint for the line.  If you want to know which UK parkruns haven't been done then check the BAAC Events Map - A selection of the UK parkruns we haven't done are shown with a green tree whereas those we have done are shown with a red tree - and you'll note that the detail includes the best ladies and men's times at each parkrun.

Roderick Hoffman

Meet the Committee

Most club members rarely if ever make it to the Heston Venue and so only get the chance to meet up with committee members at events.  A good suggestion has been made for each of the committee members to write a few words about themselves.

Correspondence

Nick Edge was also in touch "I had to agree with your comment re being in the same race as the stars. For me it was Salazar in NY '81. "

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.

Club website:

www.barunner.org.uk.