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BA Athletics Club News Digest 30th July 2018Events:
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. Last updated: First week of July. * Club Event Map: [Clickable link to Google Maps] / # Club Points event Not for you, no longer interested? remove me please. / Difficulty viewing this? Read it from the website:- http://www.barunner.org.uk/News Latest.shtml. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BARunnerUK/ (formal club page), BA Runner Facebook Group (informal - ask to join) Inclusions, with photos, please to Roderick Hoffman at news@barunner.org.uk. BAAC Annual General Meeting Wednesday 25th July - Chairman's Editorial
The minutes from the meeting will be available from a future digest. There are no radical changes of direction for the club. This WednedaySome of us will be competing at Perivale in the final Veterans match of the year (more details - see below). Others will be having an informal run and social at the Bedfont Club. We'll also meet at the Bedfont Club on other Wednesday's throughout August other than the 22nd (BBQ - see below). Contact me if you need to be reminded of any details of the Bedfont Club (or check the back issues of this digest). Vets League Track & Field, Battersea, 18th June 2018Our third Vets League fixture took us back to leafy Battersea Park, surrounded by keen tennis players, the looming power station and the drone of aircraft descending into London City Airport. Our team had grown from the previous event, to just two men, but four ladies. Was a relay entry on the cards? Only time and exhaustion would tell. For the first time this season, we fielded four athletes in different categories in one event: in the 100m, Julie Barclay dropped down two age groups to ensure we collected good points. In the 400m, Christine Munden led us out, while Jacqui Musselwhite took BAAC’s first victory of the evening with a blistering 72.1 seconds. The longer track events saw Julie and Paul Watt once again achieving similar times in the 1500m, Paul just coming out on top this time in a crowded men’s race. Janet Smith chose to test her hips and back in the 2000m walk, picking up more valuable points. In the field, Janet had a great evening in the Hammer, with a huge win over second place, then three team members tackled the javelin. The evening closed with an exciting ladies’ 4 x 400m. Our determined team of four returned for one more effort in the heat, Jacqui dipping at the line at the end of this gruelling event to try and claim an improved place.
It was an enjoyable evening. There is only one more to go, at Perivale on Wednesday 1st August. Everyone is welcome, and there will be a slot for you in the programme. AGM Wraysbury Sailing Base Mile results 2018 - Wednesday 25th JulyFor a second year the pre-AGM mile race was held around the Sailing Base boat park and lakefront path. The lap has been measured at 322 metres. The temperature was in excess of 30 deg C at 6.30 p.m. and everyone was 3%-5% slower. Gary Rushmer's course record of 6:08 set in 2017 still stands.
Thanks to Harry Wild and Paul Brandon for acting as officials. Steve Newell World Airline Road Race Sept 2018 updates #At least 17 are signed up with the BA Team - twelve of them as airline runners and five as non-airline (Piers, Clara, Tim, Michelle, Megan, Finbarr, John S, Caroline, Anthony, Steve N, Jane, John T, James, Ian, Richard & Bridget). From this week I'll be communicating with the team separately to this digest. If you would like to be copied in then please let me know. Roderick Hoffman {roderick@rhoff.org.uk} Club BBQ - Wednesday August 22nd at HarmondsworthIt is nearly time for our annual BBQ. We will be holding this on Harmondsworth Moor on Wednesday 22nd August and will have a fun/training event beforehand. Now that the hot weather has broken we can talk about the possibility of rain disrupting our plans - in the event of inclement weather we would have the option of retreating to the Five Bells. This is a first call to anyone who is willing to help with either the BBQ or the event beforehand. Please get in touch - it can't happen without you. Club parkrun results for Saturday 28th July 2018
The parkrun 500 club which currently has 22 members is about to expand dramatically with no fewer than ten runners now into the “four nineties”. The records of runners graduating imminently help to illustrate how parkrun has now successfully colonised the provinces and consolidated itself nationwide. Brian Platt (499) has run mostly in the northeast Cheshire area and just once at Bushy. Heather Pearson (498) runs mainly in Yorkshire and has never been to Bushy and only Stewart Holmes (499) is from the old establishment with over 490 of his runs having been at Bushy, Kingston, Richmond, Crane and Old Deer Park. There have been a couple of changes involving long term members which have affected our statistics. Simon Ashford is still a member but now appears in parkrun results under Hitchin AC and a few of his runs this year were not picked up. One that was missed was at St Andrews (24:51, 19th May) and this has been added to our club total which was up to 429 before this Saturday’s results came in. Piers Keenleyside resigned from 1 April but has rejoined again this week. His run at Jamaica Pond in Boston in mid-April cannot be counted. The weather seemed to be on the point of breaking this weekend but there was a good gathering of our members at Bedfont Lakes where several volunteered to be pacers. Julie Barclay (21:47) and Paul Watt (22:43) travelled to Stratford-upon-Avon to take in a performance of Romeo and Juliet. Events turned out better for our runners than the Shakespearean lead characters, coming away uninjured and with club records to boot. Kay Trinder (21:10) was at Littleport in Cambridgeshire for the first time, was first lady across the line, equalled the record for her age category and set a new club record. Steve Newell (38:25) travelled to Foots Cray Meadows (LB Bexley) to maintain his LonDone status and found himself in the company of parkrun legend Danny Norman doing his 599th run and 254th park. Even more than Roderick Hoffman (30:11) who was at Clumber Park (Notts)(National Trust)) for the first time to notch up his 238th park and maintain his place in the top 20 parkrun tourists (worldwide). Former members Bob (38:35) and Linda Winning (36:59) who were at Bushy Park at the beginning of the month were back in Wales to try the fairly recently launched Llanerchaeron parkrun for the first time. The riverside course is also held on National Trust land and close to the Irish Sea coast. Steve Newell Updated parkrun stats - club parkrun stats parkrun StatsOn the subject of the members of the 500 club the Facebook parkrun statsgeek group discussed who might have spent longer running parkruns than anyone else. I can offer you three data points:
These are long times - but not ridiculously long, Alan has only spent ten and a quarter days of his long life running parkruns (this is ignoring travelling time, course set-up and take-down times, recovery etc.). Is that about the same as spending eleven months watching Eastenders? But less painful? Club Featured parkrun for Saturday 11th August - Dinton PasturesA parkrun so new even I haven't run it! August 11th will be the 5th running of Dinton Pastures parkrun (http://www.parkrun.org.uk/dintonpastures/). This is on the nearside of Reading, just off the M4, and so about a 35 minute drive from Hatton Cross. The name may sound familiar to parkrunners because Dinton Pastures used to be the venue for the Reading parkrun when the Thames flooded the normal Reading course. But please note that the start/finish area is different from the one that Reading parkrun used - head for postcode RG10 0TH and then Dinton Pastures Country Park and the Dragonfly Cafe. If anyone needs a lift from the Hatton Cross area (which will also reduce the net carpark charge) please let me know. From now on, if/when the Thames floods you can expect Reading parkrun to be cancelled and the Reading parkrunners will be free to visit whichever parkrun they wish - with three others now in the Reading area and others nearby. New ParkrunsThere will be no shortages of new parkruns to visit over the next month or so. Long in the planning, Loughborough (or more specifically "Dishley, Loughborough") was one of two UK parkruns to start last Saturday and I'm aware of eleven other new ones starting in the UK across August. I'm not saying in print where or when but there will be some interesting new places to visit for Saturday morning runs. There is also a parkrun starting soon in the USA which will get some travellers excited - it is in New York State on the road from New York to Philadelphia (http://www.parkrun.us/delawareandraritancanal/ ). If you are heading that way, then it starts on 18th August. Roderick Hoffman Ride London; View from the back….. (of the shuttle crossing that is, not the ride!)As you’ll know I’ve been the BAAC co-ordinator for London Marathon events for many years and have been grateful to Clara for picking up the Vitality 10km volunteer organisation and Steve for the Prudential Ride London. Whilst I had experience of the former, I’d never been to the latter since its inception in 2013 so signed up to help.
If you’re familiar with the shuttles at the marathon, you’ll know that the team lead invariably instigates the sweeps but Ride London is different in that the sweep actually controls the direction of travel past not just one crossing on Whitehall, but three and if they’re not co-ordinated….. well, safe to say bikes and people coming together wouldn’t make a pretty sight. Step in Bandeep from SFM Security, who’s role was to make sure all the crossings were in sync. And so the day progressed, through the rain & wind and then a reasonably dry afternoon; before the drizzle returned. There was great camaraderie in the team and we were able to take breaks to stretch our legs. Not surprisingly spectator numbers were down but bemused tourists kept us on our toes and tested our knowledge of the London sights. By mid-afternoon bikes outnumbered people in the pen as weary cyclists made their way home; most in good humour and understanding of why they had to wait to cross. Yes, it was a long day, but it was enjoyable; fab. company, nice food (the packed lunches turned up!) and the cyclists were grateful for the time the volunteers had given to allow safe passage around course. We also had a good spot to watch the professionals flying through. So thank you Steve and team, great job! Simon Turton Wedding Day 7k - Friday 27th JulyA good turnout of nine BA runners for the Wedding Day 7k on Friday evening and Joe Nolan on supporting duties. I also grabbed a quick chat with Bill Byrne as he passed me in the closing stages! As ever a high quality field (first woman was Mara Yamauchi in 26:41). We all enjoyed the rain shower at the start to cool everyone down!
Ian Cunningham Tom's Diary
Next Digest - Results, news, pictures, feedback, jokes, stories - send it to the editor, Roderick Hoffman, at news@barunner.org.uk. Club website: www.barunner.org.uk.
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It
was nice to take a backseat for once and Steve kicked the day off with a
pre-brief, kit allocation and a plan for where we’d all be helping. Packed
lunches were delayed but Steve was on the case! So by 09:30 I was in the company
of Trish, Zoe and Guilaine {pictured, from Trish's Facebook page}
manning the south side entry / exit point of the shuttle on Whitehall.