SYDNEY STRIDERS ROAD RUNNERS’ CLUB AUSTRALIA FEB APR 08 About the Blister Quarterly journal of Sydney striders Road Runner’s Club, Inc. (Founded 1980). PO Box R1227, Royal Exchange, Sydney NSW 1225, Australia. Opinions publishd in this journal, whether expressed by members or non-member, do not neccessarily represent the official policy of the club. Advertising rate: $100 per edition, per page ½ page $50, ¼ page $25. Classifieds: $5 per edition, full year$20. Circulation approx 600 Copy Preferences How many words? As a guide, 1300 words anda picture makes 2 pages. Smaller items and letters are most welcome How to send? Email to [email protected] Write in a Word document and send as an attachment to your email Font: Cambria 10pt Photos: If posting, it’s best not to send your only copy. Send as a separate jpg file when emailing your stories INSIDE ISSUE NO 104: Cool Canberra cops Guzz gives gutsy go at top fielded ‘thon capital quest from core club quickies Face the formidable Bruce Fordyce, fans Scary! Three of our members top-placed in the Canberra Blind Dave leads the Marathon. How must other way in 7 marathons clubs feel! David Criniti was second this year after placing third last year, and about a Steely Iron Men and minute faster. their tough tales Andrew Tuckey, one of our athletics team members and Lisa learns to love a front runner in our 10k the Six Foot Track series, was not far behind in third place overall, Find afoot, top free training groups The incomparable Jenny Wickham thought she hadn’t gone too well on the day but was, nevertheless, not far behind the lead females in 3rd position. It was raining and cold; difficult conditions for the runners further back in the And more.... field, with some suffering hypothermia. Details: see MTG report within > BLISTER NO 104 FEB – APR 2008 Club Phone Contacts President Jim Moody 0411 258 589 Vice President Brian Ogilvy 0410 694 875 Secretary Ross McCarty 0403 557 127 Blister Printing Blister Contributions to: Paper Tiger Printing [email protected] Treasurer At Chippendale Or Striders PO Box Charles King 9816 5593 Web & Database Manager Acknowledgements Craig Dunn 9380 4583 Rick Collins, Carol Taylor (Ron Daly story) Andrew Smith (Archives) Jim Results Manager Moody, Tony Fattorini (pictures, articles) Karen Canfell (article) Chris Graham 0419 162 538 . A l l y e h e a r !!! A l l h e a r y e !!! . Blister Editor Dennis Wylie 0404 898 661 Athletics NSW Winter season is upon us. 10k Series Director Barbara Becker 0402 967 697 This means that all Striders wanting to run in upcoming events for Athletics 10k Timing & Results James Moody 0411 258 589 NSW Winter or Summer seasons should be registered soon. Adam Moody 0410 766 5866 Striders have been very competitive over the past few years against other 6 Foot Track Manager TBA clubs such as Randwick Botany Harriers, St. George and Sutherland, in both 6 Foot Track Run Manager the Open Age, Senior Age categories (35+, 45+ 55+), and more recently the James Moody 0411 258 589 Junior categories have also placed well. It is imperative that we keep this tradition going. Super Series John Van Yzendorn 9874 6927 The process is that the club will subsidize runners willing to participate in 3 ANSW Liaison Athletics NSW events in "each" season (e.g. 3 for Winter - see list below, 3 Glenn Guzzo 0407 453 649 Anna White 0407 893 579 for Summer) MTG Co-ordinator Senior Male runners please contact Glenn Guzzo "[email protected]" Phil Skurrie 0411 066 348 or 0407 453 649 to be a part of the action, as he is co-ordinating the STaR Maps Registrations for Men. Tony Keller 0409 463 861 Senior Female runners please contact Anna White Uniforms Managers "[email protected]" or Phone 9417 7390, for Women's Darren & Karin Kaehne Registrations. 0417 109 565 For Junior runners please contact Caroline Yarnell. "[email protected]" Social Functions for Junior Registrations. Chris Truscott 0402 464 047 TBA The timetable of events available for Subsidy: Internal Events Sunday 20 April NSW Mountain Running Championships Wollongong Fran Boorer 0421 985 328 Saturday 26 April Novice Cross Country Championships Scarborough Park Saturday 3 May NSW Road Championships Sydney Olympic Park Volunteer Co-ordinator Sunday 18 May NSW Half Marathon Championships Sydney Half Marathon Liz Woodhams 0412 396 881 Saturday 31 May NSW Cross Country Relays Miranda Park New Members’ Liaison Saturday 21 June NSW Cross Country Championships Nowra Pauline Evans 0400 392 976 Saturday 19 July NSW Short Course Cross Country Championships Western Calendar Sydney Regional Park Rob Chalmers 0410 933 140 Saturday 2 August NSW Road Relays Wollongong Mailout Manager Saturday 23 August Australian Cross Country Championships (TBC) Tina Campbell 0488 774 744 Melbourne Sunday 21 September NSW & Australian (TBC) Marathon Championships Sergeant-at-arms Sydney Wayne Gregory 0439 895 709 Glenn Guzzo 2 BLISTER NO 104 FEB - APR 2008 By STEPHEN JACKSON Marathon des S ables 2008 7 Days, 6 Stages, totalling 245.3km of self supported running through the Sahara Desert in temperatures ranging from 5C overnight to 55C in the afternoon. Just another walk in the (hot dry sandy) park really! popular Pre Race urban myth The 800 strong field A has it that the dribbled into the race Inuit Indians of headquarters in Northern Canada Ouarzazate (OZZ), in have over 100 words western Morocco in to describe different the few days before types of snow. I am the event. Once sure that the there, we were Bedouins of the shipped by bus about Sahara have over 200km to the north 100 words to east to the edge of describe varieties of the Sahara at Erg sand - and we Chebbi where the experienced every admin day was spent one of those 100 tidying packs and varieties. This race, At the start, Stephen looks over the heads of other runners towards food, passing muster billed as the toughest the sand hills that he confidently knows to be a mere mirage. with the officials and footrace on earth their multitude of (open to argument), has been around for 23 years rules, and getting the OK from the medical team now, and typically has had one or two Australians collectively known as Doc Trotters. This year saw entering each year. For some unknown reason, 2008 particular attention paid to the medical side of things was, dare I say, the Aussie Assault, with 21 Australians as a runner had died last year during the event. facing the dunes on Day 1. Only two Striders, Steve Urwin and Phil Hugill, have competed and completed We arrived at the first bivouac late in the day and I before my participation this year. noticed a range of hills to the east of the camp. The desert must be beyond those hills, I thought. The next Preparation morning, with the sun glinting off them, I realised that I entered the race in May, 2007, which gave me nearly the range of hills was indeed the largest sand dunes in a year to get organised. I quickly got in touch with the Western Sahara, and on the morrow we were to Steve and Phil, and sought out the various ‘net forums start the race straight into them with the first 14k of where the race is dissected in every facet and detail by the opening 32k stage being dunes – big soft ones. veterans and those planning to compete this year, next year, and even 2 or 3 years hence. The popularity of We had two nights under canvas before the start, and this event sees waitlists in place for 2011 in some were rudely awaken at 6:00am, on the morning of regions of the world. Stage 1, by the Bedouins descending on the camp to remove the tents, regardless of the temperature, sand Spreadsheets and calorie counting became the order storm blowing, or personal state of unreadiness, for of the day, with the weight of every piece of equipment shipping to the next bivouac. and calories per gram of food blighting our every shopping trip. My lovely wife, Megan, had to put up The stages were all over a mix of soft sand, dunes, mud with finding socks and suspicious white powders, plus flats, salt pans, and kilometres of flat featureless, but all manner of other MdS items in the kitchen scales on incredibly rocky, plains. Only the last 1600m was a regular basis. tarmac. The stage distances were: Day 1 – 31.6k Day 2 – 38.0k The rules of the race include a loaded pack weighing Day 3 – 40.5k between 6.5kg and 15kg before water, 2,000 Calories Day 4 – 75.5k per day in food, a collection of compulsory items such Day 5 – rest (?!?) as a compass and a snake venom pump, and a Day 6 – 42.2k somewhat warped sense of adventure. Day 7 – 17.5k 3 BLISTER NO 104 FEB - APR 2008 Day one stage I still had food left over, so a bit of culling and Started warm, got warmer, and tapered off to just rearranging for the next few days saw another 750gms plain hot. The first 14k were dunes, then a mix of slashed from the pack. 5½ hours today, and back in climbs on mud and salt flats and, just to add insult to 210th place, but again quite comfortable and pleased. injury, a couple km of more dunes. I started Routine, routine, routine, and lots of piccies. Around conservatively, really not knowing how the 8pm the emails are delivered to the tents and I am the combination of heat, sand, soft surfaces, and over 10kg envy of the tent with a pageful of messages.