Nuneaton Harriers News January 2014

Nuneaton Harriers AC News

Edition 7 - November 2014 - Mud Sweat and tears

So it has begun! The cross country season is back with us. Bring it on! In this edition we’ll bring news of the recent racing exploits of your club-mates, welcome a few new faces and highlight upcoming fixtures. Read on….

The Matt Tonks roundup I know it’s unusual to feature just one athlete but this is a bit special. Many people know that Matt set himself a challenge to complete 100 marathons by his 40th birthday. Well that birthday is drawing close (Dec 10th) and so is the completion of the extraordinary endeavour. Here are just a few of Matt’s recent results.

5th Oct – Mablethorpe marathon – 9th place 2:59:41 (another ‘sub 3’ clocking) 19th Oct – Eden project marathon – 13th 3:32:01 (Matt says this is a great event, finishing at the domes) 25th Oct – Snowdonia marathon – 71st 3:14:00 (a tough one) 26th Oct – Leicester marathon – 391st 4:28:56 (tired legs maybe?) 28th Oct – Enigma 3 lakes marathon 1st 3:11:17 (Day 1 joint winner) 29th Oct – Enigma 3 lakes marathon 1st 3:12:59 (day 2 joint winner) 1st Nov – Kingsbury parkrun 5k 18:10 (yup, quick enough on legs that have done a lot of racing)

So let’s just look again – 5 marathons in 10 days and three of them sub 3:15. Now that’s pretty impressive but that’s not all of it…

In mid November Matt travelled up to Bolton to take part in the ‘Hell of a Hill’ marathon. This is an off- road, trail race run over an 8 lap course climbing each time up Rivington Pike. In total the race has 6000 foot of ascent. Unsurprisingly it’s billed as the toughest marathon in the country, the course record of just under 4 hours indicates that this is no exaggeration.

The surprise in this story is that Matt didn’t just run it once. The full ultra event is held over 5 consecutive days 12th-16th November with the Hell of a Hill raced each day. Five days, five marathons, 30,000 feet of ascent. (You’ll recall that Mouth Everest is 29,000 ft).

The results of this adventure, Day 1 5:17:11 (careful recce on the first day) Day 2 4:49:28 (know where we’re going now) Day 3 4:35:02 Day 4 4:25:26 Day 5 5:48:40 (keeping a promise to run round slowly with a friend) Total elapsed time for 131 miles = 24:55:47

That took the total to 99 and a well-earned rest. Matt’s 100th marathon comes up on December 10th and is the Enigma Blue race at Milton Keynes – Matt, we all wish you well. And we’re looking forward to having you back in the regular team. Birmingham half marathon – 19th October A few Harriers in this one, two in the top 100. Niggly injury during preparation spoiled attempts on sub 90 mins for some and Keith was laid low by a bug and couldn’t race at all (and couldn’t even bear to watch it on TV). Andy Harding, who raced very competitively for us last winter but alas now lives in Derby, was our quickest. Garry Payne was good for another sub 80 minute run. Ian Carwardine’s injury put a spanner in the works of a hoped for 1:35 run. New member Alan Glaister is closing in on regulars Martin and Chris.

Andy Harding 1:14:25 (34th) Garry Payne 1:19:43 (70th) Chris HH 1:35:21 Martin Swan 1:37:46 Alan Glaister 1:43:09 Ian Carwardine 1:47:49 Andrew Downes 1:52:37 Zoe Brown 2:37:11

Salisbury half marathon (including British masters championships) – 19th October In very picturesque countryside and on a beautiful autumn morning this race was deceptively tough. Climbing up from outskirts of Salisbury up to the prehistoric settlement of Sarum and then looping back along the river valley the competition was good but the times show that this is not a ‘pb’ course. The local clubs and Southern Masters dominated the age group results. Eleanor Fowler 2nd W35 (2nd place British Masters championships) 1:28:08

Dovedale dash – 2nd November Greg Jones, now eligible for senior race distances was impressive on this tough 4¾ mile trail course that includes the famous Stepping stones crossing of the River Dove. Greg was 19th overall and ranked 2nd under 18 year old in the event with a time of 30:58.

18th Greg Jones 30:58 155th Pete Barzetovic 36:56 220th Fred Heath 38:50 427th Andrew Ranson 49:41 473th Jane Lea 52:15

Centurions grand prix series – race 1 – Solihull 2nd November This series of winter races (one a month on Sunday morning) is recommended, 5miles consisting of 2 and a bit laps of a park in Chelmsley Wood on tarmac and cinder paths. The course is virtually flat around a large lake. The paths are a bit narrow but with only about 130 runners it isn’t a problem. The event is friendly and well managed with a modest entry fee. At the first race there were age category wins for the Fowler/Greenfield family team 11th Eric Fowler 30:29 1st M50 14th Eleanor Fowler 30:48 1st woman 46th Pete Greenfield 36:21 1st M65 The Pete B roundup Pete Barzetovic is another prolific racing snake – putting that large running show collection to good use. On 12th October Pete ran in the Oxford half finishing in 1:32:14. Then a fortnight later on 26th at the Stroud half pete finished in 1:32:59. The endurance work is yielding a benefit because on 15th Nov Pete clocked a parkrun pb of 19:51.

Midland women’s league - Newbold Comyn - Saturday 8th November A wet morning turned to a dry afternoon and a record number of women turned out for the first of the cross country races this season. Generally conditions were good underfoot and the heavy rain that fell before the start of the race didn’t appear to swell the famous ditch too much. The club tent (sponsored by Decathalon) was well used and with a repaired club flag we have a muster point that does us proud. In total there were 369 runners which made up 39 teams. GB international Jess Judd was the individual winner and had to work hard for the victory. The Harriers women finished in 12th place overall in the senior category. Hopefully this will be improved upon in later fixtures as today all of the scoring team were slightly below par. Eleanor Fowler led in 17th place, followed by Helen Talbot in 47th position and Amanda Harris in 110th. Showing great promise on her debut for the club was Sarah Clark; finishing in a respectable 217th place. After being a regular on the track for Nuneaton, it was great to see Carolyn Dyall making a return to cross country for the Harriers. Along with other strong performances by Sim, Hayley and Claire, a special mention for Angie Fisher, who became one of the many victims of the ditch, (though thankfully without harming herself). Although the women’s team was placed 12th in the senior race, racing against many younger athletes representing the midland universities, the Harriers women took a magnificent victory in the Masters competition. Out of 31 teams, Nuneaton finished 1st with 174 points, followed by Stratford and Northbrook, both with 247 points.

Harriers results Eleanor Fowler 17th 25:06 Helen Talbot 47th 26:36 Amanda Harris 110th 28:56 Sarah Clark 217th 32:49 Carolyn Dyall 229th 33:08 Sim Wilson 264th 35:00 Hayley Clarke 285th 36:09 Claire Allen 296th 36:41 Angie Fisher 322nd 38:40

Birmingham cross country league - Newbold Comyn - Saturday 8th November The men’s team definitely missed the presence of some of the younger (read faster) seniors and matt Tonks away on marathon duties. Greg Jones led home the charge in his first Birmingham league race. With all three divisions combined this is a big race (736 finishers) almost half the size of the National championships! Greg was 34th overall and 6th junior with a time of 38:55 for a race over approximately 10k. The rest of the ‘A’ team were rather more shall we say ahem, ‘senior’, with four over fifty-year olds including the ever-dependable Tony Norman who is eligible for a free bus pass. The ‘A’ team score landed us in 16th place – just into the ‘red’ zone at the bottom of the division. Call to the ‘quick guys’ – we need you out next time to avoid the risk of relegation. The ‘B’ team placed 11th. This was the first race over the country for Lee Harper, Alan Glaister, Andy Turner, Gareth Parker and for Keith Stephenson (at least their first since school days). Well done and I understand all enjoyed the experience. Chris HH and Alex Bruce had less fun taking a ‘mud bath’ at the ditch – hope you saw the funny side of it later chaps. Harriers results Greg Jones 34th 38:55 (6th Junior) Eric Fowler 95th 41:49 Nick Wilson 148th 44:58 Jimmy Dewis 164th 45:37 Tony Norman 184th 46:30 Pete Batzetovic 188th 46:35 Lee Harper 189th 46:46 Keith Stephenson 191st 46:47 Chris Hamer-Hodges 219th 48:47 Andy Turner 222nd 49:20 Martin Swan 224th 49:48 Pete Greenfield 230th 50:42 Matt Ruff 244th 52:20 Alan Glaister 258th 56:26 Alex Bruce 262nd 59:04 Geoff Hudson 264th 60:39

At Leamington we also made a very belated presentation to Andy Massey (alas still not racing yet). Andy had won a prize at the Coombe 8 last November and this was finally handed over in front of his team mates.

Proving a point - British and Irish masters international cross country – Nottingham 22nd November Eleanor was not picked for the England W35 team and wanted to offer the selectors a bit of contrary evidence. An open race followed the international championship races, on the same course in Wollaton Park. Over the 6k distance El won the women’s race with a time of 22:18 that would have placed her 3rd scorer in the winning England team. Point made! Hopefully the chance for an England vest will come soon.

New faces A warm welcome to the following seniors who have recently joined the club or have at least joined our training groups – Bernadette Campbell Robyn McDowall Lee Harper Sarah Clark and Michelle Kenny (Helen Talbot’s twin sisters) Jamie Thompson

London rejects? If you applied to enter the 2015 London marathon and have received a rejection notice then you are eligible for the club draw. The Harriers are allocated two places for members who have been unlucky in the public ballot. We decide the lucky (?) member with a random draw of names from the hat.

If you missed out in the ballot and would like another chance please let Eric or Nick Wilson know BEFORE 12th December. The draw will be made at the Christmas party in the clubhouse.

Forthcoming events Date Men’s Birmingham League Fixtures Women’s Midlands League Fixtures 6th Dec ‘14 Gloucester (Severn AC) Abingdon Pk, Northampton (Rugby AC) 10th Jan ‘15 Burbage (our home fixture) Droitwich (Droitwich AC) 7th Feb ‘15 Wolverhampton (Wolves and Bilston AC) Wolverhampton (Wolves and Bilston AC)

Boxing day morning relays – the usual ‘scratch team’ relays around Riversley Park. Approx 2 miles each in teams of 3. A good way to run off a bit of the Christmas dinner before tucking in to cold Turkey sandwich and telly on Boxing day. Meet at the clubhouse at 10:00 for 10:30 start.

Sunday 28th Dec – Huncote Hash. About 6 miles cross-country (short section crossing Croft Road) including a run (walk/stagger) up Croft Hill. Good fun event – fancy dress if you like. £4 entry on the day at Huncote leisure centre. 11am start.

Saturday 3rd January = County championships. The Nuneaton women are the reigning Warwickshire champions. It will be a tough ask for them to retain their title in 2015.

The Warwickshire championships are at Cofton Park (Longbridge) which is a great venue – used for the GB trials and inter-counties races each year. The Leicestershire champs are at Cosby. If you want to race then please contact me asap – entries close in mid December.

Saturday 24th Jan - Midland Area Championships – Wollaton Park, Nottingham

Sunday 25th Jan – Leicester road league The Barrow 6 – Barrow upon Soar These races are chip times and only cost a few quid to enter. Great value. Club members only.

If you’ve raced and want to tell others about it, or have something you’d like to see included in the newsletter then please let me know. Other members will be interested in your race reviews.

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