baRUNNER - a website for the British Airways Athletics Club

BA Athletics Club News Digest 29th November 2021

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

Club Event Map: [Clickable link to Google Maps]

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

Piers has suggested the Serpentine New Year's Day 10k for the January Run-of-the-Month. Are there any other views or suggestions?

This Week's Events

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:

Five Mile Winter Handicap run 2 #

A rather thin turnout on a chilly evening with a fresh which was actually quite good for running.

I don't know where everyone else was but Roderick ran and was closest to his target time (38 seconds fast) and Steve Hillier was next (84 seconds fast). Roderick speeded up by 12 seconds in the second lap whereas Steve Hillier slowed by a minute and a half. Julie Barclay was nursing an injury and chose the one lap walking option.

Paul Watt also had a niggle and chose to help Steve rather than run - you can see from the week achievement report below that the rest was successful for him.

The next handicap run will be on Wednesday 15th December and the run in January (26th) will be followed by the winter Hillier Quiz evening with some food at the Bedfont Club.

Steve Newell / Roderick Hoffman

Track-on-Field November Result

Three of us undertook the Track-on-Field challenge this month and with a familiar pattern Steve Hillier proved to be the club's gazelle at the 200m distance but at no other. I edged Denis on all distances but I note that recently he has been a minute faster on parkruns and five mile runs. The three of us must arrange to run against each other on a track for this challenge one of these months.

Roderick Hoffman

Bushy Club Featured parkrun - Report #

The threat of hostile conditions failed to deter 976 parkrunners from participating in the 853rd running at the cradle of parkrun this morning. These included eleven BAAC members and family, the men led home by Mike Dennison in 20:01 and women by Maria Jovani in 22:50. Completing the team was volunteer tail-walker Di Smith.

In the end we were spared the sleet showers that book-ended the event, and by 09:30 there was even a glimmer of watery sunshine to illuminate the impressive stags moving in the bracken and visible from the course.

Afterwards a few of us donned extra insulation before enjoying coffee from the kiosk while Steve Newell entertained us with selected episodes from his 15 Ironman triathlons in 10 countries.

John Scaife

Photo (Maria) - a selection of club runners and friends.

40th Anniversary Club Clothing Update

We've now taken delivery of the first order of the 40th Anniversary Club Clothing. The initial distribution process for these will be our December in-person events including at the Bedfont Club on Wednesdays 8th, 15th and 22nd. You do not need to pre-order (yet).

Both the Sweatshirt and Technical Tee-shirts feature the standard club logo in full size on the back. The Sweatshirts have a full price of £18 but each club member can purchase one for £10. The Technical Tees have a full price of £13 but again each club member can buy one for £7. You must be a paid up member to have the discount prices and note that such member requirements will be given priority over those for non-members and additional requirements. We will place a second order in January so all requirements should be satisfied - distribution being the main challenge for some. Preferred payment is by electronic transfer to the club account - we'll provide you with details when you collect your shirts.

Multifunctional Bandanna - use it to keep the sweat out of your eyes, to keep your neck warm, ladies to tie your hair back, men to cover that bald patch, as an emergency facemask for shops and public transport or as a face cover for bank robberies (not recommended - the BAAC logos might give you away). The Club Bandanna is a free item from the Chairman ("Happy Christmas"). I'll distribute these to club members and supporters as I meet them and with each 40th anniversary shirt order. Distribution to other locations will be trickier but should be possible. I have 100 of these so anyone who wants one should be in luck and many who don't want one will get one anyway!

>Roderick Hoffman

# Club Participation Points Update

November had five club scoring events: "Joe's" Run-of-the-Month, the cross-countries, and last week's Five Mile Handicap and Club Featured parkrun. Consequently another two club members achieved the ten point recognition threshold - so well done to Mike Dennison and Benita Scaife (showing your husband the way home, as usual). There are four members on nine points but with every chance of getting another point since there are five events up for scoring at over December. The four club members on seven points and the eight on six may have more of a challenge but remember that helping without running can score you two points at in-house events. At the top it continued to be very close between myself and Steves H and N - each trying to get theirs as the first name on the new Tom Rowley trophy. It is also very tight for fourth place with five colleagues on 16 to 19 points.

Activity Achievements over the week 22nd to 28th November 2021

18 club members and friends reported their week activity achievements.

Roderick Hoffman

parkrun results for Saturday 27th November 2021

36 runs and volunteer efforts are listed below, including three non-runners and an approved double - get in touch if your activity is missing.

Topping and tailing the results table this week - David Duggan took advantage of the extra parkruns in USA at Thanksgiving and ran at College Park in Maryland on Thursday (31:35, 51.24%).  That took David to 93 different runs and the club to 607.

On to Saturday (aka parkrunday) and cold and windy weather in UK caused lots of cancellations either because of fear of unsafe conditions developing or in several cases because the routes were actually blocked by fallen trees.  Roderick Hoffman had travelled to the Midlands and switched from his intended run to his backup but that was called off as well at short notice.

Paul Watt (21:28, 72.2%) and Julie Barclay (26:08, 71.1%) travelled to Markshall Estate parkrun near Colchester which started recently to raise the club score to 608.  The first parkrun they have done in Essex. By nailing a “run #3” Julie’s Wilson Index has leapt from 2 to 10.  The Markshall Estate website home page is one of several to feature a photograph of Alan Anderson (we believe at Gunnersbury!) – have a look.

John Coffey (34:53) ran at Hazelwood for the 92nd time.  He holds the MV75-79 record there with 27:08.  After almost 16 years of parkruns his Wilson Index is 15!

Alice Banks (31:41) had never been to a parkrun in Hampshire and chose the challenging Queen Elizabeth Country Park.  She is now on 49 parks.  Her Wilson Index is 8.

Late in the day the news filtered through that David Duggan(31:01, 52.2%) had run along yet another new park run (for him) - the Anacostia Riverwalk trail in Washington DC - so that makes it 94 for him and 609 for the club.  David has now run at 14 different parkruns in USA (including Raleigh Durham which he ran before joining us).

Steve Newell

Sarah Gordon reports "An adventure! I was halfway to Birmingham to meet Roderick when the blizzard arrived! The planned parkrun Oaklands cancelled, I crawled back along the motorway and stopped at Bedworth which was one of the few that was foolhardy enough to go ahead despite the weather. Volunteers must have been freezing!"

Had Sarah not set off down the motorway but instead turned up at her local Braunstone she'd have had it cancelled on her at 08:50, too late to go to the other Leicester parkrun.

The weekend's cancellation map ( https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=11kOknOw_-3fUJl2sK3HoRoZddMCpoUY7&usp=sharing ) shows the consequence of a storm front sweeping its way across the Midlands from the north west from 7am onwards (so course inspection time). The early ones to be hit cancelled because of strong winds. Then there were cancellations due to "weather conditions". But by the time the storm front got to Oaklands and Brueton the cancellation reason was clearly due to snow. Bedworth had had an early inspection and the course was declared fine. They did almost change their mind as 9 o'clock approached but went ahead with it. The data in this map is dependent on the filings made by parkrun run directors - these will not always be accurate so, for instance, Windy Nook is still showing as having been on.

Roderick Hoffman

Full club parkrun database - {read access to club parkrun database} - Download and explore (this is where I get most of my club stats from).

Club Event Map: [Clickable link to Google Maps]

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

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