May 2008

EMGP Bedford 6 mile 21/5/8

135 Charlie Jones    43:16     (PB)
 http://mcs.open.ac.uk/mkac/08emgpBEDfordheader.htm

EMGP Corby 5 mile 28/5/8

M    F         Cat      No.    Name                     Cat      Time    
4    4            4     1268     Nathan Holmes   MS       27:30
36   35        1        941    Paul Kelly             M55    30:12    
142  133    9        188    Charlie Jones       M55    36:50  

http://mcs.open.ac.uk/mkac/08emgpcorbyheader.htm

Upper Boddington 10 km 26/5/8

2      Nathan Holmes,  34.33
15    John Hosie,  37.44
17    Howard Andersen,  37.54  (First M50 Vet)
43    Becky Smith,  42.14
46    Tony Mackness,  42.44
48    Richard Hands,  42.57
74    Sarah McNaney,   46.43  (Second L45 Vet)
87    Craig McNaney,  48.56
126  Joanne Moyse,  55.19
133  Lesley Keighley,  57.19  (First L55 Vet)
140  Angela Hands,  60.25

Wolfisheim Fun Run, France.(4.5 Km) 17/5/08

Richard Hands:  19 min 00 sec (4th Place)
Report: As part of Strasbourg’s weekend of sporting activates, Wolfisheim, a village on the outskirts of Strasbourg, held its annual fun run. This consisted of traffic free, 3-lap course of the village.

Strasbourg 10Km 18/5/08

Angela Hands:  1 hr 00 min 59sec

Strasbourg Half Marathon 18/5/08

Richard Hands:  1 hr 37 min 48sec (P.B)

< style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">New this year  for the half marathon with the course passing through the centre of Medieval Strasbourg passing  the Cathedral. The half marathon, like the 10K, started outside the Council of Europe HQ and ran through the outskirts of the city, over the Rhine into Germany around the town of Kehl before crossing the Rhine again into France, through the Jarden de deux Rives and finish at the Wacken exhibition centre in the shadow of the European Parliament.
The day also included a 5Km run, a 10Km race-walk, a 10km rollerblade, and a 3.3km walk, along with several different children’s fun runs.

Oxford Town & Gown 10k 18/5/8

Julie Nunn    56.58 (Pb)   1631st
Diane Keen   57.18          1668th

Anglo Celtic Plate 100Km Race, Cardiff, 18/5/8

  1. Dominic Croft    England    Woodstock H    MM40    07:21:45
20. Mark Baker    Wales    Northbrook AC    MM40    09:44:23
21. David Halford        Northbrook AC    MM45    09:52:03

Mens Teams
1.    England
2.    Scotland
3.    Wales
Report and picture: Mark Baker
This race was my debut in a Welsh vest. I had been selected after my bronze medal in the Barry 40 mile race. In fact, 40 miles is the furthest I had ever run, so a distance of 62.5 miles was very daunting. Dave Halford accompanied me to Cardiff to run independently, hoping to use his wealth of experience over ultra races.  Colin Deasy, of Coventry Godiva, also offered congratulations on my selection, as he prepared for the race.
The course followed 31 laps of just over 2 miles around Bute Park. It was a proud moment as I lined up for photos with the Welsh team before the start. I organised my food and drinks table, and was ready for a long day. My plan was to start steadily, at a pace I could keep going for as long as possible. However, Dave was soon out of sight! After a couple of laps I ran with a Welsh team mate, and eventually caught Dave around 12 miles. I had been drinking plenty of sports drinks and water, but this had upset my stomach, forcing me to slow down. Dave was soon ahead of me again. I was struggling along – very worrying so early in the race. The Wales team offered advice and encouragement, and I was given a drink to settle my stomach. Things looked better, and I continued towards halfway in better shape. By now I was being handed plenty of food at the end of the laps, with the team looking after me well. Conditions were good, and I reached 40 miles in reasonable shape – everything from now on was unchartered territory. I was told that there were only 3 Welsh runners left in the race, so I was guaranteed a counting position if I finished. This spurred me on, but my legs were cramping up at 50 miles. Surprisingly, I had not walked at all, except to take on food, but I was getting very close to doing so. Then I was told that Dave was only 2 minutes ahead. I found a new lease of life and caught Dave at 57 miles. The bell soon sounded for the final lap and I just had to keep going. As I approached the final 100 metres, someone handed me a huge Welsh flag, and I carried it proudly to the finish line, to cheers from the spectators.
I was third Welsh counter, and was congratulated for completing the team. This continued a series where Wales have always recorded a scoring team. One official confided that he thought I’d have to stop early on, but was impressed by my tenacity to keep going. Dave was not far behind. We both ran under 10 hours, and managed to keep running all the way. I was exhausted but also euphoric – it was a proud day, and one I’ll never forget.

Northbrook Men's A Team results from the Cotswold Hilly 100 Race 18/5/8

Leg 1  Stuart Keen, 60.58
Leg 2  Neal Walker/Stuart Keen, 70.30
Leg 3  Paul Lawlor, 66.25
Leg 4  Howard Andersen, 66.29
Leg 5  Martyn Burder, 65.00
Leg 6  Dave Lee, 65.23
Leg 7  Pete Fellows,  68.40
Leg 8  Mick O'Shea,  55.32
Leg 9  Paul Kelly, 60.00
Leg 10  Nathan Holmes, 56.53
 
Total: 10.35.50 - Fourth Place
 
Men's A Team Report:
The morning started well enough.  After Stuart Keen had posted a fast time for Leg 1, Northbrook were in third position at the first changeover point.  Neal Walker then took the baton and looked strong running through Mickleton and up the first hill into Chipping Campden.  Then we had a stroke of very bad luck as Neal suddenly suffered a tear to his calf muscle and signalled that he would be unable to continue the race for much longer.  The priority was to keep the team going although there were few options available at the time.   In response to the worsening situation, Stuart Keen, who had just completed the previous leg 20 minutes earlier and was now following the rest of the race from the comfort of his father-in-law's car, valiantly offered to re-join the race and complete the remaining 7 miles of Leg 2.  Incidentally, the 7 miles included the monster hill that leads out of Chipping Campden so this was no easy undertaking.  However, with Stuart's contribution, the team kept going until the end of the leg when Paul Lawlor took the baton for Leg 3.
After this, it was a case of gradually clawing back as much time as possible as we had now slipped to about sixth position.   The gap was gradually closed over the course of the day and the contribution of fast legs from the last three runners - Mick O'Shea, Paul Kelly and Nathan Holmes - meant that we finished in a very respectable fourth position.  Thanks to everyone for such a tremendous team effort in difficult circumstances. 
Finally a special thank you to Northbrook's equivalent of Jeremy Clarkson - Dave Lee - for ferrying so many of our cars to the right place at the right time.   I understand he'll be publishing road test verdicts on all our vehicles soon with the Peugeot 307 Diesel Estate tipped to be his favourite!

East Midlands Grand Prix – Rugby 6  14/05/08

Pos.    Cat. Pos.    Name            Cat.    Time
7    5        Nathan Holmes        MS    32:41
29    1        Paul Kelly        M55    35:27
52    29        Richard French        MS    37:37
73    3        Rebecca Smith        FS    38:45
85    4        Amanda Kelly        FS    39:34
92    10        Peter Fellows        M50    39:54
152    7        Charles Jones        M55    43:29
161    1        Jack Langman        M70    43:44
176    1        Sarah McNaney    F35    44:35
187    60        Richard Cutts        MS    45:08
194    13        Kerrie Martin        FS    45:29
296    4        Lesley Keighley        F55    54:11
Report: Pete Fellows
Lower than usual club turnout with some runners opting for the Kingsbury classic the night before, unless you’re Nathan who chose to do both. Some good individual performances with Paul, Jack and Sarah all winning category prizes

Kingsbury Classic 10k held at Kingsbury Water Park on Tuesday, 135/8

2    Nathan Holmes. 34.01
7    Howard Andersen, 38.00 (First M50 Vet)
19  Dave Lee, 40.40
20  Paul McGurk,  41.01
30  James Joyce,  41.56
32  Paul Stead,  42.30
34  Paul McKeeney,  42.39
51  Cath Fenn, 44.31 (PB, First L35 Vet and Third Lady)
 
Last year the future of this multi-terrain event hung in the balance so it was good to see a vastly improved turnout of 130 plus for 2008.  Northbrook fielded eight runners on the night and a tremendous run from Nathan saw him secure the runner's up slot whilst Cath's PB enabled her to grab both the F35 vets' and third overall ladies' positions (although she was only allowed one trophy!)
 
Full details at www.cambaevents.co.uk

Hinckley Dog & Hedgehog Half Marathon 11/5/8

28     Howard Andersen, 1:25:36  (3rd M50 Vet)
158   Jon Guest, 1:40:33
161   Amanda Kelly,  1.40.46
375  Jackie Williams,  1.55.40
430  Shonagh Innes,  1.59.20
579  Claudie Combelas,  2.10.34
580  Bev Veasey,  2.10.40
713  Joanne Moyse,  2.23.56
819  Brian Hewetson,  2.37.32
 
A very hot day which was not conducive to fast times.  However, a good turnout from the ladies section with some great performances in the tough conditions.  And, it was good to see Jon Guest racing again.
< style="font-style: italic;">Full details at www.hinckleyrunningclub.com

East Midlands Grand Prix Silverstone 10Km  6/5/8

Pos      Name                           Cat.      Time
46        Paul Kelly                     M55     36.24 (2nd M55)
149      Pete Fellows                 M50     40.48
312      Charles Jones               M55     44.48
448      Richard Cutts               MS      47.32

Stage 5 Marathon Tour of Coventry  5/5/8

The B.B.Q Breakfacst Run 10km- Stage 5 of N.P. Aerospace Marathon Tour of Coventry and Warwickshire
7 Mike Wheeler  39m46s  PB
10 Richard Hodge 40m19s time PB
16  0:42:56      WILSON, John   SM      82      16
57  0:56:45      KEIGHLEY, L     L55      286      57

Overall:
Np., Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3,  1/2 Marathon Time,  Stage 4,  Stage 5, Over all times so far,  Name, Cat, No.,  pre time 1,  pre time 2,  pre time 3,  pre time 4
82 0:34:21, 00:16:29, 0:42:52, 00:38:19,  01:29:09, 0:43:23, 0:42:56,  03:00:01  john Wilson SM    82      03:11:52      03:04:18 
72 0:39:01, 00:18:38, 0:47:16, 00:42:32,  01:40:11, 0:49:51,0:47:34,  03:22:20,  Paul Costain SM  72     04:00:00 

Report:
The event was fantastic, all the competitors were socialising well and there was a great atmosphere at the start and end of each race. Paul and I even managed to get some more competitors for the Northbrook 10K so it wasn't for nothing.As far as the running went, the 4th race (Fen End 10K) was by far the hardest. Your body hurts somewhat and you know that you have to do it all again the next day so difficult to motivate yourself. The final race was great though with no pain and only a couple of seconds outside my PB. This left me with an overall time of 3 hours and 1 second. The final race was 10.1km though so I still see it as a sub 3 hour time! Will definitely do it again next year and would thoroughly recommend it to everyone.
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Final Placings:
 
13th John Wilson 3h 00m 01s
28th Paul Costain 3h 22m 20s

A full marathon in 5 stages: Details are on the Coventry Godiva Harriers website http://www.marktr.btinternet.co.uk/index.html

Stage 4 Marathon Tour of Coventry  4/5/8

The Lord Leofric 10km- Stage 4 of N.P. Aerospace Marathon Tour of Coventry and Warwickshire
16      0:43:23      82      WILSON, John       SM      82      16
35      0:49:51      72      COSTAIN, Paul     SM      72      35
45      0:53:47      68      MASON, Stephen  M50      68      45

Neolithic Marathon Avebury-Stonehenge, 4/5/8

Nathan Holmes        3.28.06
Rebecca Smith         3.28.07

Report: Nathan Holmes
A really well organised event over a hilly, off-road course across Salisbury Plain. Despite losing the will to live a couple of times in the third quarter ("Oh f***, another hill"), Becky managed to finish without walking in a pretty decent time for the course. Nice of her to wait for me too! Free refreshments at the end and a lovely (but not free) hog roast sandwich, then free entry to Stonehenge with our race medals. Definitely one I'd recommend.

Stage 3 Marathon Tour of Coventry  3/5/8

Stage 3 - Sat 3rd May 10am; 10km Race, Packington Park (The Black Prince 10km)
Latest results after stage 3:
                                Stage 1    Stage 2    Stage 3              Overall Time    Position    Change
John Wilson      34m21s      16m29s      42m52s(PB)       1h33m42s            13th        None
Paul Costain     39m01s     18m38s       47m16s               1h44m55s            30th        Down 1
Stephen Mason  42m34s    20m27s            DNF               DNF                  

Report: John Wilson
Unfortunately Stephen pulled up after about 4km with an injury leaving only two representing Northbrook remaining.
A good course with the first 2km downhill. Unfortunately it was an 'out and back' and therefore the last 2km were uphill! Nice scenery and good weather allowed me a PB. Tomorrows 10km around the Prodrive test track should be even flatter allowing for hopefully better times.       

Stage 2 Marathon Tour of Coventry  2/5/8

                          Stage 1    Stage 2    Overall Time    Position    Change
John Wilson      34m21s    16m29s    50m50s            13th        None
Paul Costain     39m01s    18m38s    57m39s            29th        Up 3
Stephen Mason  42m34s    20m27s   1h3m01s         40th         Up 2
 
Report: John Wilson
Nice weather meant for some good times for the 4.2km stage. Everyone made up some time on the higher places, I remained in 13th place but only 30 seconds now separate 9th to 13th, Paul made up 3 places and Stephen made up 2.