November 2011 - Monthly Running Update

 

*** Member’s ONLY Enclosure ***

Next year’s CC races - Click Here

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For your diary - 16 December 2011 – Littledown Harrier’s Christmas Party

Details from Mike or Laurence

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Barry Light invites you to his 60in60at60 Bournemouth/Poole birthday marathon on 22 December 2011.  Click Here

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Men’s Captain: Ben Roscoe will reluctantly be stepping down at the end of the year as Men’s Captain due to work relocation. We would all like to thank him for his contribution to the club over the last year and wish him well in his new job. He will still be involved in the club but not able to run with us as much.

 If you are interested in being Men’s Captain, speak to a Committee member for more details. This is an important but very rewarding post in the club…
 

October Results  

30.10.11Snowdonia Marathon

1409 finishers

Report from Naomi:  Not exactly a sea of orange – but Barry Light, Lawrence, Paolo and me were there putting in an appearance in North Wales for the Harriers.  Also, in attendance Barry’s two brothers and Mike Neal – who had to pull out but stayed the whole rainy blustery day in little Llanberis to support us.

The journey up was fun. It blew a gale all Friday night which didn't bode well for the event on the Saturday and sure enough, sheet rain, gale force winds gusting up to 60mph and it was freezing!  We started by the lake & the first couple of miles were fairly easy – except for the weather!  Then came the 'Llanberis pass" 4 miles of climbing, straight into the wind and rain.  Exfoliation on Bournemouth beach is tame by comparison. Seriously squelchy shoes & socks and more sweat on the inside of the jacket than there was rain on the outside – get the picture?

An absolutely beautiful route, with amazing support, families standing in atrocious conditions to hand out sweets and cakes and cheer us on, fantastic marshals and extremely well organised water stops . Even the queues of traffic waited patiently and cheered us on from open windows with the rain pouring in!

The infamous climb at around mile 22 went on forever and each time you think you've had enough it gets steeper!  A couple of miles of this and then it’s down, down and down vertically on a mud slide.  The cross wind made it very hard to keep your footing and it was funny watching the whole line of runners getting swept sideways in harmony.  I can now claim to have been 'swept off my feet" (wait long enough anything can happen!).  Onto a very steep narrow road & down into Llanberis then a nice flat finish through the village.  

An evening of food – the odd pint and a nice bottle of red, then off to climb Mt Snowdon on Sunday – well – you can only get sore once!  Took the 'Pyg Pass" sign said it was the hardest of the 6 available options to get to the top – thanks Barry!  There was a fair bit of scrambling and climbing involved.  It was about 3.65 miles to the very top.  High winds and some rain, although I think some of it was wet clouds!  Visibility near the top limited to about 2 or 3 metres.  

7hr journey home – quicker …. Because its downhill - of course!  A fantastic marathon – my biggest challenge by far to date bearing in mind the conditions and quite possible my favourite marathon – not decided yet!!

http://www.snowdoniamarathon.com/

30.10.11 BUPA Great South

4 Harrier’s took part in this prestigious, but pricey event. I’ve listed the finish order but times not available for everyone.

Ben Roscoe
Jim Cowdroy 1.09.25
Barry Telling 1.21.06
Ryan Ford

http://www.greatrun.org/events/event.aspx?id=12

30.10.11 The Stickler CC

Report from Hev K Women’s Captain:  First of all, it is absolutely essential that you visit the Dorset Doddler "Stickler" page to see our "eager piddlers" hogging the start line, just raring to go!! http://www.dorsetdoddlers.org/thestickler/index.htm How come I did this race ...I have no idea!!  I even wore my 5 year old "off roadies" which have only been used once before!!  It was so enjoyable, that I burst into my own rendition of Julie Andrews...from the Sound of Music on top of the mountains....it really was challenging, but a great race and I will certainly do it again.

Once again a "sea of Orange", even the guy with the microphone on the rail track at the end, called over and asked if we had all come by coach?  We had 15 ladies there, Wow!  Amazing performances by everyone, well done to Nikki running in "odd shoes"..... Not even the same make!!!   Maybe that’s the way forward then!

Congratulations to the "fantastic" men’s team made up of Greg Pinear, Adrian Bonner and Mark Packer who won 1st team, and also Greg and Adrian winning separate prizes.  Our ladies team of Nikki Sandell, Caroline Martin and Tracey Lander came 3rd, with Nikki also getting 6th lady prize and Kathy Fooks winning V50 prize.  Lots of Piddle beer and cheese balls afterwards!  Littledown Harriers are making a habit of stealing the day.  Well done to everyone. Thanks also to our Littledown "support Crew" en route.  It was quite a way to come to watch so it is very much appreciated by us all.   

http://www.thestickler.co.uk/          

30.10.11Frankfurt Marathon

Congratulations to Sanjai Sharma for completing the Frankfurt marathon in 2:57:46

http://www.bmw-frankfurt-marathon.com/en/home.html

November Results  

06.11.11 New York Marathon

Congratulations to Vincent Rochard for completing the New York marathon in 3:27:06

http://www.nycmarathon.org/entrant_index.htm

06.11.11 Hilly Gilly CC RRL

http://www.gillinghamtrotters.talktalk.net/

6 November 2011 Lordshill 10m

http://www.lordshillroadrunners.org.uk/

13 November 2011Shillington Shuffle 27mile

‘’…mainly field paths, tracks and woods through undulating countryside with good views from the hills…Bring a mug, compass, recommended maps Exp 193 or LR 166 & 153, waterproofs, torch if you expect to finish after dark…’’ LDWA event.

Report from Naomi: My quest for 10 marathons in my 50th birthday year took me to Shillington (other side of Luton & north of the Watford gap!).  Shillington Shuffle, marathon number 9 of the year.  Not even a puddle of orange this time – more like a drop – just me and Paolo (Paolo pilling on the marathons to reach his hundred – think I'm right in saying this was number 72?!!).

Getting up at 4am and leaving before 5, staggered start from 8 to 9.30, journey time about 2 & half hrs – and I didn't get lost!!!!  Went armed with 2 x sat navs, AA route master and my new AA map book – well done to Paolo who navigated (actually we did go the wrong way twice!).

Lovely day, pretty hot & sunny.  It was an L.D.W.A Challenge event so you could walk, jog or run either 26, 17 or 12 miles across open countryside, ploughed fields, woodlands and even a crop field (hope they were planting squash (!) - it is now!).  We had 5 sheets of A4 instructions to follow (Paolo uploaded the route to his GPS and followed that – I had it on as well but the only thing I noticed it said was 'off course'!! No instructions on how to get back 'on course' - how useful is that!!

4 checkpoints supplying sandwiches, cakes, tea, coffee & an assortment of soft drinks – which I duly sampled – seemed rude not to!  Had the 2 mins silence for Armistice at checkpoint no 2 and then crept past a group of church goers holding their silence in the open – 7 or 8 runners trying to be quiet whilst jogging on pea gravel – hmm!  Baked beans on toast topped with cheese, followed by mince/apple/jam pies & custard & cups of tea at the end – I was stuffed!! Apologies to the people who missed out – it wasn't me who had 5 helpings!!  Guess who!

Thanks to Mike with the pony tail who entertained me with tales of how his last girlfriend left him when he ditched her every weekend to run a marathon, and taught me how to save fuel, (don’t ask!) to the lady from Wisbeech who got lost with me in the country park & to the guy who wrote part of the route & pointed me in the right direction a couple of times & lots of others I met who I followed when I couldn't be bothered to read the route anymore!  Only took one pic (its on FB), spent all my time route reading!

It was a really gr8 day out – not the fastest run – self navigation is not my strong point but I only did about a mile extra which is brilliant for me!  Fantastic value at £5 entry including all food and drink. Throughly recommend L.D.W.A events.

Results were Paolo 4.22 and me 5.24 – I think!!

http://www.ldwa.org.uk/BedsBucksAndNorthants/W/1050/results.html

20 November 2011 Wimborne 10m CC

http://www.wimborne10.co.uk/

Report from Hev K Women’s Capt: Perfect running conditions and perfect race results..... 34 Littledown Harriers in Wimborne. The men outnumbered us ladies today, there were 14 of us and 20 of them, but pro rata....and gender graded....I guess the ladies were the force!   Many PBs were achieved today. A real special mention to two of our new members in the last few months, Helen Gilbert and Michelle Carpenter who just seem to be getting faster and faster.  Sam Pain also did a 4min PB...  you were all fantastic! So yet again, well done everybody. Also was good to see Sarah Isaacs back out racing.   The atmosphere at the end as we all gathered round was sheer happiness...but I guess that was because we all got free homemade cakes and tea!!!  I understand that the ladies came 2nd and 4th team, and Julie White won 3rd in her age category. 
Marvellous men of course refers to the No.1 team of Harriers men.....Adrian, Mark, Greg and Gary.  Well done to you all. 

20 November 2011 Gosport Half Marathon

Report from Hev K Women’s Capt:  Great Gosport Girls......Half Marathon ....Emma Dews and Nikki Sandell were on a "Mission"......accomplished!! Fantastic! They have both now qualified "Championship" places at London 2012 Marathon.  A sub 1.30 marathon was required and Emma stormed in 1.22.47  3rd lady and 1st Age category, and Nikki did it in a cool 1.29.46......still had all of 14 seconds to play with!!!!!  Well done to both of you.   Naomi Bennett also went along.  Naomi has "Race Fever" at the moment and I think this time last year she was 5ft 6...but now she is only 5ft !!  Ha ha!    Well done Naomi, even with your tired legs after marathon after marathon, she still did 1.43.26. Three more ladies joined us recently, Louise Harper, Natalie Shaw, and Sarah Siviter, welcome to Littledown Harriers. 

http://www.gosportroadrunners.org.uk/

Mini reports

26 November 2011 Benidorn Half Marathon

Report from Steve G: Great race as it started at dusk and was run under the illumination from the promenade and streets with fireworks, music and lots of support along the way. With beer at 2 Euros a pint we quickly rehydrated after the run.

27 November 2011 Downton Half Marathon

Report from Paolo: Only a splash of orange at the Downton half yesterday, bit windy, and some long hills (the hills weren't my friends yesterday Naomi..!) but ran a PB 2.07 so I was well pleased. Oh and homemade soup and rolls at the end..! Well done guys, for anyone interested it’s quite a tough little course with hills at around 4, 6 and a massive gradual one at 8 miles. Chipped timing. Nice quiet country roads through the forest, a beautiful view of the river Avon halfway through. Nice cup of soup and a roll at Downton School afterwards. Recommend this one for next year!

http://www.racenewforest.co.uk/DowntonHalf2011Results.htm

 

RNLI Moors Valley 10k

Report from Naomi: Only one Harrier at the RNLI 10k Reindeer run at Moors Valley – me!  but I did get on the TV – and 2nd lady.  Free mince pies & hot choccy afterwards – plus a £5 car parking bill!  Lunch at the Fish Inn food ok but service is appalling!

14.10.11 and 24.11.11 5K Time Trials CC

*** Next TT 16.12.11 Final 2011 CC race ***

http://www.poolerunners.com/

27.11.11 Boscombe 10k

http://www.bournemouthjoggers.co.uk/races/boscombe10k.html

Report from Hev K Women’s Capt: Not a lot of action this weekend.  I think as the year draws to a close, the last League and Championship races done, we are all saving our energy to pull our Christmas Crackers!! ...that didn’t stop 3 of you being blown from all directions round the Boscombe 10k....I do hope the wind was in your favour going up the side of the golf course!!  

27 November 2011Hayling Island 10m

http://www.havantac.org.uk/hayling_10.html

Report from Hev K Women’s Capt: I boarded the "Boogie Bus" to Hayling Island.....well it was like going abroad for the day as we had to cross the water.....well over the bridge of course....but we did nearly end up abroad, as our Chauffeur took a wrong turn!  But we all arrived safe and on time to be blown around also. 

Well, it was great to have us all arrive together in a mini bus, maybe this could be arranged more often as it was fun and  obviously  makes parking easier and is cheaper than loads of cars going....so that’s something to think about.

Poole Park Runs (Oct/Nov)

http://www.parkrun.org.uk/poole/home

DORSET ROAD RACE LEAGUE

DRRL Positions M&F Teams see: http://www.sirisaac.co.uk/raceresults11.html

Click here for 2012 Provisional CC races

Dates and events for your calendar

Dorset Road Running Information: http://www.dorsetrrleague.co.uk/  

Every Saturday Morning 9am Poole Parkrun - Free 5km Timed Runs
Details at: http://www.parkrun.org.uk/poole/   

Beach Workouts - Beach hut 723 in Southbourne use Manor zig zag, free parking on cliff top. Arrive 5-10 mins early. Majority of class is on the sand everyone can work at their own levels, Check out Facebook.com/fitnessologyrevolution or You tube search fitnessology fitnessology@talktalk.net   for info /cost -Tues 6.30-7.15am Wed 6.15-7.15pm Fri 6.30-7.15am and 6-7pm Sat 8.30-9.30am  Aide

16  December 2011 Club Christmas Party

In next month’s update:

CC final places and awards. Christchurch 10K.Plus any other results I’m notified of,,,

Coming Races

Winter 5K Series 2011-12 Start 7.30pm Boscombe Pier, fast, flat, out and back course £2 entry on the night. Fastest time in 2011 race for CC points

Friday 16 December CC

Friday 20 January

Friday 03 February

Friday 02 March

http://poolerunners.digital-trip.co.uk/Files/Boscombe5k-Combined-Entry-Form.aspx

11.12. 11 Christchurch 10k RACE FULL

25.12.11 Poole Park Round the Lakes 10k

02.01.12 Somerley 10k

02.01.12 Broadstone Quarter RRL

08.01.12 Milborne 10m CC RRL

19.02.12 Lytchett 10m RRL

05.02.12 Blackmore Vale Half Marathon CC RRL

11.03.12 Mad March 20 CC RRL

11.03.12 Southbourne fast & flat

01.04.12 Bournemouth Half & 10k

07.04.12 Rotary ¼ CC

06.05.12 NORTH DORSET VILLAGE MARATHON http://www.gillinghamtrotters.talktalk.net/

http://www.dorsetrrleague.co.uk/fixtures.html for more race details

23 September 2012 Grizzly entries open www.AxeValleyRunners.org.uk

Check DRRL site for details of local races http://www.dorsetrrleague.co.uk/fixtures.html

Still want more!!! See links page for more running related sites (in no particular order).