Race the Train 2006, Tywyn, Wales

Sandie Harwood reports about the mud..

Four members of Tewkesbury AC made the 3 hr journey to Tywyn in Wales to take part in the 23rd Annual Race the Train Event.

Despite, drizzly and muddy conditions, this year's event was enjoyed by all four members of the club, a challenging multi-terrain 14.8mile course had runners up, down and along hills, knee deep in mud and water, through farmland and some roads too.

Angie Sadler was star performer picking up the prize for 2nd Lady Vet 45 and finishing 123rd, Bradley Crouch 136th, very much at home in this type of terrain, Sandie Harwood 493rd, this being the longest race she has done to date and Phillip Howells 494th, proving that this type of event is what he really enjoys! This was the first time Angie and Sandie had taken part in this very well organised and atmospheric event. Overall finishing field was 709.

Angie 123 1:51:34

Brad 136 1:53:04

Sandie 493 2:26:05

Phillip 494 2:26:05

Arlingham 4.4, 28/08/06

Andy H reports..

This morning, athletes including yours truly, pounded the roads around the small village of Arlingham. In the years that I have been living in the Gloucester area I have never done this race before so I thought I had better get on and do it. I was also using this race as a final sharpener before the Oldbury Power Station 10 which is this coming Sunday

The race started at 11:30 at the Red Lion pub and we did a small loop around the lanes of Arlingham before running back through the village towards the River Severn. This part of the race was quite hard work as there was a strong breeze coming off the river. The road finishes just before the river bank so we turned around a cone and then retraced our steps back towards the village. On reaching the village again we did another but different loop before finishing back at the Red Lion pub.

I did 25:27 and came fifth (I won a box of Cadbury's chocolate cookies). There was a reasonable turnout with decent quality up at the sharp end. Overall an unusual distance (4.4 miles) but quite a pleasant race to do.

Harwood has the bottle…

Jon M (responsible for the dodgy headline) reports...

Tewkesbury AC’s wine cellar is becoming fuller by the day. This time it was Sandie Harwood who collected quality wine. Harwood scooped the “Most Improved award” at the Cotswold Aquathon race series. The series comprised of three races - in June, July, and August. The challenge was a 750m lake swim around the Blue flag awarded waters instantly followed by a two lap 5km run. Harwood, who is relatively new to open water swimming, was the last finisher in the June event. This fuelled her determination and she just got better and better. So good was her performances, she was called up in front of a packed awards ceremony to collect her fabulous awards.

Fellow club members Jon Rawlings and press officer Jon Mansfield also raced the series. However, they collected nothing but a peck from an angry swan!

Frank Duffy 10 Mile, 19/08/06

Clive S reports..
What better way to prepare for a 10 mile race around Dublin's Phoenix Park, than a night of generous carbo loading as depicted here? Actually the hardest bit was getting out of bed after 5 hours sleep, and negotiating the buses on a typical rainy Irish morning. After all that I was very pleased with a time of 63:25, putting me in the top 90 in a field of nearly 2000. The race was well organised and supported, the course was entirely traffic free, and I was back in the hotel for lunchtime. I can thoroughly recommend this event if you're looking for a spouse-friendly running weekend abroad.

County 10K, 24/08/06

Andy H reports....
Last night I took part in the County 10k Track Championships at the Blackbridge Track in Gloucester. In the past I have had a good record at this event, I was 1st 3 years ago and 2nd last year. However last night's field was full of quality. I finished 8th overall (4th Senior Man). I ran 35:57 (a PB of 9secs) a satisfactory performance by me, I thought, as I wanted to break the 36min barrier. There were 18 runners in the field over half made up from Bourton (most over 45). It was a pity there were no-one else from the club as there were more County medals up for grabs and I feel we could have done well. For example there was no-one in the Senior Ladies or LV35 category. The race would have been different from doing the usual Wed night run.

There was a one highlight last night, I was involved in a race where a World Record was set. The 2nd man in was an athlete from Tipton Harriers (one of the best clubs in the country). He set the best ever time by a V55 over 10,000m on the track. I am unsure of his exact time but it was around the 33min mark.

White Horse 5K, 17/08/06

Andy H reports....

On Thursday night there was the final race in the series of 5k races around the lanes of Sandhurst near Gloucester. This race also incorporated the County 5k Championships. This meant that the field was VERY HOT in quality.

Six runners from the club punished their bodies. Below are the results.

Name Position Time

Me 25 16:56
Mike Primett 56 19:23
Adrian Lavery 68 20:16
Amanda Martin 72 20:47
Rob Jordan 77 21:58
Carol Cowley 84 21:33

As this was a County Championship race, County medals were up for grabs and I am pleased to say that our two lady runners came away with some booty. Amanda was first LV35 and Carol was first LV55. Many congratulations to them both.

There were a total of 106 finishers. The winning time was 14:44. Cheltenham Men and Bourton Ladies won their respective team prizes.

Boddington 50K

Well done to our ultra-distance heroes and heroines, who surely make Tewkesbury AC one of the best ultrarunning clubs around, based on percentage of active members competing over these distances.

Ladies:
5 Sue BRUCE (2nd LV40) 3h40m30
7 Angie SADLER (1st LV45) 3h46m50

Men:
5 Adrian LAVERY (5th MV45) 4h12,04
20 Phillip HOWELLS (1st MV55) 4h31m38

Boddington 5K, 13/08/06

Cathy reports..
3 Tewkesbury AC members took part in the 5K race which was held over a fast flat course but in unfavourable wet and windy conditions. A field of 132 took the start which included over 50 women. I was really pleased with my run finiishing in 30th position overall & 2nd female, coming away with another bottle of wine (it was very nice as well!!). My time of 21:18 was not my fastest but given the conditions I was still really happy. Carol also had a pleasing run fininshing 38th & 3rd lady in a time of 22:19. It was really nice to have 2 Tewkesbury AC ladies finishing in the top 3.
Stu completed the trio coming home 1st for the club (It doesn't happen often!!!) placing 24th overall in a time of 20:12, tho' he's still waiting to break the 20 min mark.

Handicap update - 15/08/06

Jason reports....

Thanks to everyone who competed and to the two tooth lighter Stuart for his help. A disappointing turnout this time allowed Mike, Charlotte & Sandy to take full advantage securing the top three places and thus putting themselves right into contention for the title, with Charlotte climbing to the top of the rankings for the second time after a two race absence. Eleven of you (down to and including Cathy on the leaderboard) are in with a chance of becoming the first handicap champion going into the final race(September 13th). As ever though Mike, Charlotte & Sandie will be penalised next time out!
It is pertinent at this time for me to have a plan in the event of a tie after the last race, so I suggest that in the event of a tie for the podium places that firstly competitors shall be separated by their head to head results. If their head to head results are tied then it will be down to who has run the least amount of races. After that I may have to toss a coin. If anyone can think of a fairer or better system please let me know ASAP.

For the last race I will need two volunteers to assist me as I think it may be a better turnout. Brad has already offered but as he is still in with a chance of winning I think it would be better if he ran, so I would be grateful if a couple of you who probably aren't in contention could lend a hand.

The following are finish order with points scored and time order for the Aug 9th handicap followed by the current standings with individual races run in brackets.

Jason

POSITION NAME POINTS RANK TIME
1 MIKE WARD 5 8 39:27
2 CHARLOTTE 4 9 39:41
3 SANDIE H 3 7 38:02
4 BARRY 2 3 33:26
5 CATH D 1 4 35:14
6 ANG SADLER 1 2 31:30
7 CAROL C 1 5 36:40
8 ROB JORDAN 1 6 37:20
9 JON M 1 1 30:15

POSITION NAME GRAND TOTAL (RACES RUN)
1 LOTTE 10 (3)
2 NIGEL 9 (3)
3 ANG 9 (4)
4 SANDIE 9 (5)
5 MIKE W 8 (4)
6 ROGER 7 (3)
7 CAROL 7 (5)
8 PHIL 6 (2)
9 BRAD 6 (3)
10 JON M 6 (4)
11 CATH 6 (5)
12 STEVE J 3 (1)
13 STU D 3 (2)
14 BEV 3 (2)
15 BARRY 3 (2)
16 ROB J 3 (3)
17 STEVE W 3 (3)
18 STEVE D 2 (2)
OTHERS 1 (1)

A busy weekend!

Jon M reports....

Tewkesbury Athletic club members were out in force over the weekend…

Phillip Howells was by far the most active. On Thursday, he was joined by Rob Jordan in Gloucester for the LloydsTSB Fitness 4. Racing over a 4 mile course Howells clocked a personal best time of 24.41 - a smashing time for the V55+ ultra distance specialist. Improving Jordan ran in just behind to record 27.41

21st Phillip Howells - 24.41

26th Rob Jordan - 27.41

On the Saturday Howells set off in the “Caerphilly Summits Challenge”, an off-road run over an infamous hilly 22 miles. After an event as tough as that, you would think that Sunday could only be a day of rest? Not for Howells, as the Ledbury based multi-distance, multi-sport athlete raced in a demanding 100 mile cycle time-trial. Despite puncturing, a time of 5.45hrs was all it took for the veteran star to reach the century.

Vice-club captain Jason Draper also travelled west. The runner took on the Tenbury Wells Round Table 10km, set over a picturesque course through Herefordshire & Worcestershire. Fast times were off the menu as the runners were reduced to walking up one particular steep section after 5km. Draper recorded a time of 40.55 mins to finish 19th from a field of 178.

Barry O’Driscoll & Jon Mansfield combined swimming, cycling and running when they both took part in the Wychavon triathlon. The popular Worcestershire event was a sell-out with all 200 places taken. O’Driscoll enjoyed his second attempt over the Droitwich course that included a 400m pool swim, 20km cycle and a 5km run. The regular swimmer performed with ease in the water before he set-off on his most challenging discipline. The bike course is notoriously difficult to navigate, nevertheless, the cycling novice pushed pedals well enough to time under 44 mins for the 20km distance. The rest was easy as the runner displayed expertise while gaining dozens of places up the finishing order. Team-mate Jon Mansfield started the event for the 5th time. Mansfield also had a trouble free race with only his run time lacking to finish 5th overall.

5th Jon Mansfield 6.47 - 33.13 - 21.30 - 1:01.30

89th Baz O’Driscoll 7.58 - 43.42 - 24.40 - 1:16.15

And finally, Clive Sentance headed off east to race the "Hooky 6" around the picturesque Oxfordshire countryside. This course has the potential for some good times, but a fastish start was perhaps not the wisest choice as temperatures rose. The time of 37:39 was not quite good enough for a top 20 finish, but as a consolation there was a decent T shirt and a drinks bottle in place of the usual medal.

Bugatti 10K, 02/08/06

The full results are now available here.


Alan Dumper reports..

"Many congratulations to you all for completing a real 'brute' of a course. I was very pleased with my own performance both in the car park at the drinks station !!!! Apparently it was so good I came away with a race T shirt , a beer and two bottles of wine as prizes !!!!!
Sadly the prizes were not mine - special congratulations to Carol for winning the Lady vet 55 prize and to Cathy for her performance in finishing 6th lady . Providing I don't have a party this weekend I will hopefully bring your prizes over to the handicap next week.

July Severn AC White Horse 5K

Sue Bruce won the women's veteran category at the latest White Horse 5km. Bruce ran a time of 18.49 minutes to finish 51st and 5th female in a real quality field. Rob Jordan also ran the race hosted by Severn AC and came in 78th. Although just a local evening event, 16 athletes ran under 16 minutes and 66 ran under 20 minutes - now that is fast!

Multi-sport Exploits!

Jon M reports...

Minehead Triathon (swim = 400m, bike = 23km, Run = 7.5km)

Jon Mansfield and Sandie Harwood both took part in the Minehead triathlon. The event was the South West triathlon sprint distance championships. The swim was staged in the indoor pool before an undulating cycle course towards Portlock hill. The athletes were then sent out to run a 7.5km towards Dunster Castle, heading back along the beach, along side Butlins and then on to the welcome finish line. Harwood celebrated her birthday by completing the event in 1hr 58.28 In only her second triathlon the birthday girl came 130th. Mansfield found the going tough especially the run. Chronic hip and hamstring niggles have reduced the triathlete to just 3 miles run training a week. Nevertheless, after recording the fastest bike time of the day, a total time of 1hr 21.40 was rewarded by a runners-up spot and 1st placed senior male title for the region. A veteran took the overall win, just 19 seconds quicker.

2nd Jon Mansfield 6.35 - 42.58 - 32.07 = 1.21.40
130th Sandie Harwood 10.31 - 1.04.01 - 43.56 = 1.58.28


Bredon Triathlon (swim = 1200m, bike = 50km, run = 10km)

Four club members raced in the local Bredon triathlon. The event started with a 1200m swim in Croft farm lake followed by a scenic cycle out to Eastnor Castle and back and finishing with a 10km run. Phillip Howells was the main attraction for the 100+ spectators. The ultra-distance running specialist had never swam in the open water before and more importantly never swam 1200m. Howells didn't disappoint as the
novice used a combination of breast stroke and front crawl to complete the two lap swim in 41.50 minutes. Rapturous applause was directed at Howells as he hit dry land and eagerly rode away on the 50km ride. 1hr.48 minutes later the Ledbury based athlete ran off to complete 10km in under 51 minutes. A total race time of 3hr.20 secured 83rd for the smiling finisher. Stephen Darnell demonstrated his cycling power with an excellent ride. Darnell also timed just under 51 minutes for his run split.
Jon Mansfield had savoured the prospect of racing on his door-step training course. His swim was hampered by a leaking goggle. However, his cycling was a success, that was until the referee awarded a two minute penalty afterwards. A run time of 42 minutes was 3 minutes down from his 2005 performance. Likewise, for defending champion Jon Rawlings, racing for Tri team Glos, the Tewkesbury AC runner was struggling with a foot injury but still finished the event inside the top ten.

8th Jon Rawlings 18.14 - 1.25.38 - 42.30 = 2.26.22
11th Jon Mansfield 21.26 - 1.25.38 - 42.01 = 2.29.05
47th Steve Darnall 29.13 - 1.33.01 - 50.34 = 2.52.48
83rd Phillip Howells 41.50 - 1.48.11 - 50.57 = 3.20.58

Latest KoTR standings, 01/08/06