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BA Athletics Club News Digest 28th March 2016

Events:

  • Wed 30th March - Final Five Mile Handicap of the season - "the decider" - Heston Venue from 18:00*
  • Wed 13th April - Watersplash 10k followed by club social (see below)*
  • Sunday 24th April - London Marathon for runners and marshals

New members and potential 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.

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

Not for you, no longer interested?  remove me please.

Difficulty viewing this email?  Read it off the website instead - http://www.barunner.org.uk/News Latest.shtml. Running related gossip and chat: Facebook "BA Runner" (link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/636199849751546/).


Watersplash 10k (and 5k option) Wednesday 13th April 2016 + social with food

The runs will start and finish in the Field of Hope (M4 junction 3 pedestrian area) so please be there in time for your start.  The 5km course is a figure-of-8 course (the 10km is two laps).  The 10km runners will be started in batches aimed at getting everyone to the finish by 7.15 p.m.  e.g. 8 minute milers start at 6.25, elite start 6.34 p.m. All 5km runners will start together at 6.35 p.m. 

The course is shown roughly on the club map (although Google doesn't know of the Motorway underpass south of point "B".  Also see this Word document map (open in full MS Word to see details correctly): http://www.barunner.org.uk/courses/Watersplash_Map_2016.DOC

The event should be ideal for all London Marathon runners.

Advance entries to Steve Newell with expected time and any special dietary requests.

The social will start in the Heston venue from 20:00.

Steve Newell


Publicity material for Speedbird Ladies (4th May) and Concorde Five (5th June)

Please print off copies of the linked poster and distribute as you can: http://www.barunner.org.uk/attachments/HandoutMar2016.pdf

Roderick Hoffman


Club parkrun results for Saturday 26th March 2016

26th March family & friends time parkrun commentary grade
Scott Davison 23:25 Bedfont Lakes run #156, 137th at Bedfont 60%
Chris Evans 24:28 Bedfont Lakes run #139, 136th at Bedfont 60%
David Duggan 29:23 Bedfont Lakes run #141, 95th at Bedfont 53%
Caroline Cockram 29:40 Bedfont Lakes run #222, 142nd at Bedfont 55%
Joe Nolan 32:46 Black Park run #261, 245th at Black Park 49%
David Tyas 20:12 Bushy Park run #396 74%
Ian Cunningham 23:23 Bushy Park run #237 65%
John Coffey 25:58 Bushy Park run #206 72%
John Hanscomb 49:38 Bushy Park run #487, 483rd at Bushy 42%
Ben Chaytow 21:52 Crane Park run #127, 106th at Crane Pk 62%
Neil Frediani 36:22 Eastbourne BApark #245, park #24 44%
Kerstin Luksch 19:46 Gunnersbury pb (as usual!) 76%
Alan Anderson 31:35 Gunnersbury run#403, 181 at Gunnersbury 67%
Joan Foxley 35:58 Harrow run #25, 24th at Harrow 59%
Nicola Gordon 24:12 Leicester Victoria run #1, F-1 61%
Roderick Hoffman 27:10 Leicester Victoria run #199, BA park #244 57%
Sarah Gordon 33:30 Leicester Victoria run #100, course pb 56%
Alice Banks 26:03 Maidenhead run #54, 29th at Maidenhead 72%
Benita Scaife 30:17 Maidenhead run #31, 8th at Maidenhead 63%
John Scaife 30:20 Maidenhead run #38. 10th at Maidenhead 54%
Petra Otto 32:27 March run #7, 6th run at March 61%
Colin Russell 24:30 Oak Hill run #17, 16th at Oak Hill 55%
John Lennon 26:50 Poole 1st run at Poole 57%
Kevin Holland 29:02 Poole 442nd out of 686 59%
Steve Dodsworth 25:58 Preston (Lancs) BA park #243, course pb 58%
Linda Dodsworth 27:08 Preston (Lancs) run #58, course pb 58%
Chris Kelly 20:34 Reading run #283, 223rd at Reading 72%
Steve Newell 33:48 Reigate Priory park #69 53%
Sreeram Sethuraman 29:55 Upton Court run #73, 66th at Upton Court 44%
Janet Smith 34:54 Upton Court run #46, course pb 49%
Piers Keenleyside 24:03 Woodhouse Moor BApark #242 66%
Denis Foxley volunteer Harrow shadow run director
Alastair Heslop volunteer Guildford finish tokens

The Easter break provided some tourist opportunities and the relentless drive towards the club's 250 parkruns continued unabated.

Piers Keenleyside (24:03) visited Woodhouse Moor in Leeds, one of the longest established parkruns having started in 2007.

Next to the finish line were Steve Dodsworth (25:58) and Linda Dodsworth (27:08) at Preston (in Lancashire, not be confused with Preston Park in Brighton).  They had both run there before they were members but they both achieved PBs and those times are now the club records.

Over at Victoria Park in Leicester, Sarah Gordon (33:30), our newest member and a sister to Roderick Hoffman (27:10) was running her 100th run complete with balloons.  The 100 Easter Eggs were left at the finish line.  A course PB for her despite the effect on the balloons of the strong wind.  Roderick has now run 199 times so to round things off to average 100 runs each Sarah's daughter Nicola Gordon (24:12) who doesn't really like running was dragged along to the celebrations and promptly showed a clean pair of heels to all the other women present.  Maybe she will take a liking to parkrun if Uncle Roderick flies her over to San Francisco in a few weeks' time. Reminder that Roderick will be doing his 200th run at Pymmes next Saturday.

Lastly, and by quite a distance so I'm sure there is another story to tell, Neil Frediani reached the timekeeper at Eastbourne Shinewater Park in 36:22. Dogs, rabbits?  We all want to know.  That little lot takes us to 245 different parkruns.

Elsewhere we had four runners at Bedfont Lakes including the very consistent Chris Evans (24:38) whose three most recent runs have been in a five second time band.  John Lennon joined Kevin Holland at Poole to be part of a field of 686.  Janet Smith (34:54) ran at Upton Court for the only the second time and set a new PB for the course.

Kerstin Luksch lowered her PB to 19:46 at Gunnersbury. She has now run 37 PBs following her first run of 27:07 back in December 2011. She has volunteered to be lead bike in the near future.  Alan Anderson, be careful what you wish for.

Denis Foxley continues to become more and more involved with parkrun and has now done a stint as shadow race director.

Steve Newell (steve-newell@blueyonder.co.uk)

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


Ron F. Hopcroft

Dear friends & colleagues,

It is with great regret and sorrow that I must inform you that Ron has passed away.

I was advised of this only yesterday, Saturday {19th March}, and as yet have no details as to how or when.

I will be contacting his nephew, who was appointed his power of attorney, following the death of his son last year.

Ron celebrated his 98th birthday just three weeks ago, on February 27th, and I was able to be with him on that day. He was physically fit but as most of you know he had lost his way slightly and had difficulty recognising any one.

I will attempt to find out more details and advise you when I can.

Laurie Kelly

Ed: Others will know of Ron's achievements better than I though I can say that a quick Google reveals that Ron won the London to Brighton Ultrarun before many of us had been born, back in 1956.


Coaching Corner - Running Better, From Head To Toe (part 3)

Legs/Stride

While sprinters need to lift their knees high to achieve maximum leg power, distance runners don't need such an exaggerated knee lift--it's simply too hard to sustain for any length of time. Instead, efficient endurance running requires just a slight knee lift, a quick leg turnover, and a short stride. Together, these will facilitate fluid forward movement instead of diverting (and wasting) energy. When running with the proper stride length, your feet should land directly underneath your body. As your foot strikes the ground, your knee should be slightly flexed so that it can bend naturally on impact. If your lower leg (below the knee) extends out in front of your body, your stride is too long.

Ankles/Feet

To run well, you need to push off the ground with maximum force. With each step, your foot should hit the ground lightly, landing between your heel and mid-foot, then quickly roll forward. Keep your ankle flexed as your foot rolls forward to create more force for push-off. As you roll onto your toes, try to spring off the ground. You should feel your calf muscles propelling you forward on each step. Your feet should not slap loudly as they hit the ground. Good running is springy and quiet.

Good Luck & don't forget to smile...

Joe Nolan


Controversial Finish - NYC Half Marathon Finish

The rules for events like the Concorde Five allow runners to be disqualified for unsporting behaviour including obstructing other participants. The pictures below show the American Molly Huddle on our left finishing ahead of Kenya's Joyce Chepkirui at the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon last week. The film footage appears to show Molly extending and holding her arm against the chest of the faster finishing Kenyan and moving to her left to block her.  The two athletes were given the same time 1:07:41 with just 0.08 seconds between them - so obviously any obstruction of Joyce could of deprived her of the win and the extra $10,000 prize money.  The organisers, the New York Road Runners, did not disqualify Molly. Sadly one has to wonder what would have happened had the black Kenyan impeded the white American.

Based on the evidence I've seen, had this been the finish of the Concorde Five, I would have disqualifying Molly for this - and in the BA Fun Run or a parkrun I'd have switched their finish positions.  To not do so can only encourage such unsporting behaviour.

NYC Half Marathon Finish

Roderick Hoffman


Running Shorts

Dave Dixon

Just in case anyone mishears anything to the contrary I can reveal that I chatted to our BA running colleague Dave Dixon late last week. He is in our Green Belt Relay team and hopefully will join us for WARR and other events. Dave still holds the club's record parkrun time of 17:10.  His once club slowest time of 36:45 was been worsened since - though perhaps only by tail running volunteers or others with good reasons for slow times.

Roderick Hoffman


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Club website:

www.barunner.org.uk.


 

      

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