Wrekenton Cross Country – Race Report

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Ah yes, Cross Country has returned.

Freezing cold temperatures and mud up to your waist but hang on a minute, what was that big yellow thing in the sky? And what was that strange substance called “dry ground”? Also new for this season are chip timings in your race number – making it extra important that you don’t lose it/wash it during the season.

Wrekenton was the venue for the first race of the 2016/17 season and despite clashing with a number of other races this weekend, it was a very good turn out from the club with 10 ladies and 13 men taking part. Both teams are already looking capable of achieving promotion this year with hopefully some even stronger performances to follow over the coming few races.

Special shout outs to all the first timers – Abby (promotion to the medium pack in your first race, great stuff), Elaine, Sarah, Claire, Caroline, Tim (1st time for us anyway), Alex and Duncan – hope I haven’t missed anyone.

Special mentions also to Martin Hallissey on a rapid return to the fast pack (he’s got potential that bloke – you heard it here first!) and Matty Bell for his incredible powers of decisiveness over what shoes to wear. Thanks too to all the kids and other club members that came along to cheer us on.

After race cakes and drinks were as splendid as ever – and it’s only 7 days until we get to do it all over again at Druridge Bay when hopefully lots more team members can also be there. Photos of “aeroplanes” etc. all available to view on Facebook.

Cold and muddy? Not a chance.

Club Championship update

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Congratulations to John McGargill who has a dominant lead. The battle for 2nd place however looks like going to wire (i.e. end of October) with David leapfrogging James after his great performance in the heat of the Great North Run. For everyone else there’s still time to fit in that missing race or park run to climb the table.

queries? email club championship@pontelandrunners.org.uk

full spreadsheet is CC CALCULATOR 2016 Mac

Summary –

best short #1 medium #2 medium best long TOTAL SCORE
1 John McGargill 80.2 80.6 80.1 74.7 315.6
2 David Buffham 74.3 74.4 74.3 69.8 292.8
3 James Leiper 75.1 76.4 72.5 67.6 291.6
4 Neil Ward 72.6 73.5 72.3 70.5 288.9
5 David Levison 70.1 71.9 71.1 67.4 280.5
6 Paul O’Neil 69.0 68.8 68.3 66.6 272.8
7 Nicola Conlon 58.7 73.4 72.7 67.8 272.6
8 Elliott Ward 67.7 68.2 66.7 64.8 267.4
9 Abby Dorani 66.0 65.9 62.8 58.4 253.1
10 Mark Kelly 62.0 63.1 63.1 59.7 247.9
11 Dario Neri 63.9 64.0 61.7 58.0 247.6
12 Fiona McGargill 63.0 63.1 61.1 59.3 246.6
13 Nicola Matthews 52.7 61.0 57.9 57.9 229.5
14 Sarah Levison 58.8 55.2 54.7 56.5 225.1
15 Helen O’Neil 59.9 57.7 53.1 52.2 222.9
16 Nick Wild 0.0 76.3 74.9 65.8 217.1
17 Tina Kelly 53.1 52.9 51.7 50.9 208.6
18 Chris Wright 0.0 69.1 68.3 65.6 203.0
19 Paul Holborow 68.4 66.9 66.0 0.0 201.3
20 Laura Choake 0.0 67.8 66.6 62.0 196.4
21 Daniel Barry 64.6 65.9 0.0 65.0 195.5
22 Nick Winslow 67.4 65.4 0.0 62.4 195.2
23 Mary Quigley 0.0 68.8 61.2 64.8 194.8
24 Miv Chahal 0.0 62.5 61.7 61.3 185.5
25 Peter Bartholomew 0.0 64.1 58.9 61.0 184.0
26 Richard Winter 0.0 61.1 59.4 56.7 177.2
27 Paul Quigley 0.0 58.1 57.0 55.2 170.3
28 Laura Rosby 57.8 55.8 55.2 0.0 168.8
29 Victoria Grace 0.0 57.0 53.9 55.3 166.2
30 Kathyrn Lawson 56.0 53.9 0.0 50.3 160.2
31 Sue Baylis 0.0 81.3 76.7 0.0 158.0
32 Stefania Williams 0.0 73.0 0.0 71.5 144.5
33 Mark Lyon 70.7 70.8 0.0 0.0 141.4
34 Paul Doney 0.0 68.0 0.0 68.5 136.5
35 Elaine Stroud 0.0 69.1 0.0 65.7 134.8
36 Mark Reynolds 0.0 66.0 63.5 0.0 129.6
37 Chris Kenyon 66.7 0.0 0.0 60.5 127.2
38 Matthew Bell 66.0 0.0 0.0 61.0 127.0
39 Viv Ferrier 0.0 63.4 59.8 0.0 123.2
40 Nikki Renton 0.0 57.9 0.0 57.4 115.3
41 Richard Lowe 57.9 56.4 0.0 0.0 114.4
42 Aaron Hoyle 69.9 41.5 0.0 0.0 111.4
43 Kelly Hymer 57.4 53.1 0.0 0.0 110.5
44 Nikki Morrow 0.0 54.8 51.5 0.0 106.3
45 Martin Hallissey 75.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 75.4
46 Hannah Martin 0.0 0.0 0.0 75.2 75.2
47 Hannah Martin 0.0 74.5 0.0 0.0 74.5
48 Stefania Williams 0.0 73.9 0.0 0.0 73.9
49 Mick Meaney 0.0 72.4 0.0 0.0 72.4
50 Hannah Buffham 70.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 70.3
51 Roland Brown 0.0 0.0 0.0 66.2 66.2
52 Finlay Ward 65.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 65.8
53 David Legg 0.0 65.1 0.0 0.0 65.1
54 Lorna Ward 64.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 64.5
55 Grace Leiper 64.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 64.2
56 Ali Guadagno 0.0 0.0 0.0 63.0 63.0
57 Matty Jones 61.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 61.8
58 Lorna Ward 59.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 59.8
59 Peter Warcup 0.0 0.0 0.0 59.3 59.3
60 David Stroud 0.0 0.0 0.0 58.7 58.7
61 Jade Warner 0.0 0.0 0.0 58.7 58.7
62 Heidi Finlay 0.0 57.8 0.0 0.0 57.8
63 Alison Britt 0.0 57.7 0.0 0.0 57.7
64 Matthias Schmid 56.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 56.9
65 Gavin Townsend 0.0 56.7 0.0 0.0 56.7
66 Lesley Bennett 56.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 56.1
67 Kelly Graham 55.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 55.7
68 Dave Bentham 55.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 55.2
69 Callum Ward 53.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 53.9
70 Chris Dodd 0.0 53.4 0.0 0.0 53.4
71 Colin Coulthard 0.0 53.4 0.0 0.0 53.4
72 Suzanne Nicholson 0.0 0.0 0.0 51.6 51.6
73 Rob Charlton 0.0 0.0 0.0 51.6 51.6
74 Mark Storey 0.0 50.4 0.0 0.0 50.4
75 Danni Jepson 0.0 49.4 0.0 0.0 49.4
76 Paul Kemp 49.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 49.3

Berlin Marathon Race Report

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Dearest Mother

You may recall that some time ago I volunteered for a top secret mission, I would like to blame my decision on the impetuousness of youth , but naturally one cannot in all conscience attribute that particular issue to your good son.  I can therefore only surmise that I agreed to the task whilst under the influence of some mind altering substance.

To date dearest mother I have kept  my own counsel on the matter, as secrecy was key to the success of the mission , but now the task has been completed I feel that the full horror of my ordeal can be divulged; not only for my own catharsis but to warn future generations.

Let me start by introducing the lead players in the drama that was about to unfold. Our commander Colonel ‘W’ is a grizzled old veteran of 13 previous missions. Despite the vast human suffering he has witnessed he has managed to maintain a remarkable level of bonhomie.  It was he who recruited me with promises of glory and riches beyond the dreams of Croesus, constantly plying me with unknown tablets to ‘replace the salt’.  I now believe these to be nothing of the sort, and he has clearly drugged me to bend me to his will.

Quartermaster ‘O’ was a strange character.  Without doubt he belongs in an elite corps, so one wonders why he remains with our rag-tag bunch; I suspect he could be a fifth columnist. There are too many things that were not quite adding up. Where does he go when the rest of the regiment meet on Saturdays in muddy fields for manoeuvres?  Why does he never have an explanation for his absence? We need answers.

Sergeant ‘B’ is a pleasant enough cove-clearly he has a fondness for the hop, an urge he claims to have got under control prior to the mission . I had my doubts however, although he managed to complete his mission in an efficient and impressive manner, perhaps it is his love of grog that powered him to such performances. Who can tell what motivates a man under such pressure.  I would point out however that his memory may be becoming slightly impaired by his habit.  I cannot recall how many times he had ‘forgotten his wallet’, but it did seem to become a well-used mantra.

The mission itself when it was revealed to me on the morning via an anonymous letter slipped under my hotel door was simplicity itself. Assemble after reveille in the Tiergarten, circumnavigate the boundaries of the city and meet 26.2 miles later at Brandenburg Gate.  How one was to be sorely disabused of the simplicity of the idea.  Nothing can prepare you for the horror that awaits you at the point 6 miles from your objective.  Still like a recurring nightmare, one realised that the only way out of this torment was forward. So armed only with Colonel  ‘W’s  ‘special’ tablets I stumbled inexorably to my fate.

Upon completion I found my merry band awaiting me with tales of derring do, and all seemed in remarkably high spirits. I attributed this either to the Colonel’s medication or a pure sense of relief that our ordeal was over. QM ‘O’ once again disappeared at this point, adding to my suspicions . He did return however clutching a scrap of paper bearing some strange markings and numbers. I think I caught a glimpse of 3:08:34 but sadly the numbers meant nothing to me.

One cannot begin to express the joy at surviving my first mission dearest mother.  Despite their obvious idiosyncrasies and foibles my fellow combatants  proved to be excellent if eccentric companions. Another mission is planned, of which I can say no more at this juncture.

Spanish City Sprint Triathlon – Aug 21st

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It was a sunny but breezy morning for this triathlon at Whitley Bay. I expected a large turnout from the club but in the end there were just the two us, many of the regulars being on holiday. Helen Egdell posted a very impressive time and whilst I was somewhat slower it was still a PB for me in this event. This is a great location for a tri, the sea swim is directly in front of the famous Spanish City dome, the bike is a very scenic run up and down the coast to Seaton Sluice (twice) and the run is basically the Whitley Bay park run with a fantastic stretch along the old promenade past the Rendezvoua Cafe.

It was generally agreed that the swim was tough, there were some decent sized waves coming in as we set off which made it quite hard to see the buoys ahead which were keeled over by the wind. The buoys were positioned hastily as we waited on the beach in the true laid back way of a TRI organised event which resulted in a swim closer to 1000m than the 750m intended.

After surviving the swim and negotiating the rocks and steps up to transition the bike and run were more pleasurable despite finding more steps on each lap of the run. I enjoyed the event and as the closest open water tri to Ponteland will look forward to next years.

Dave

A video of the start is here

https://www.facebook.com/spanishcitytriathlon/

Times –

Pos. Bibno. Participant Finish time Swim T1 Cycle T2 Run
56 61 Helen Egdell 1:25:21 20:32 1:46 36:37 0:56 25:30
90 49 David Legg 1:32:13 26:02 1:21 38:25 0:40 25:45

Club Championship Table 24th August

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Here is an update on the club championship.John is still well ahead but competition for 2nd place is fierce. Lots of great performances throughout the club. Any errors or omissions please email clubchampionship@pontelandrunners.org.uk. The full spreadsheet is here CC CALCULATOR 2016 Mac

best short #1 medium #2 medium best long TOTAL SCORE
1 John McGargill 80.2 80.6 80.1 74.7 315.6
2 James Leiper 75.1 76.4 72.5 67.6 291.6
3 David Buffham 74.3 74.4 74.3 65.4 288.4
4 Neil Ward 72.1 73.5 72.3 70.5 288.4
5 Paul O’Neil 69.0 68.8 68.3 66.2 272.4
6 Nicola Conlon 58.7 73.4 72.7 67.4 272.2
7 Elliott Ward 67.7 68.2 66.7 62.9 265.5
8 Abby Dorani 66.0 65.9 62.8 57.3 252.0
9 Nicola Matthews 52.7 61.0 57.9 57.9 229.5
10 Helen O’Neil 59.9 57.7 53.1 52.2 222.9
11 Nick Wild 0.0 76.3 74.9 65.8 217.1
12 David Levison 0.0 71.9 71.1 67.4 210.4
13 Paul Holborow 68.4 66.9 66.0 0.0 201.3
14 Daniel Barry 64.6 65.9 0.0 65.0 195.5
15 Nick Winslow 67.4 65.4 0.0 62.4 195.2
16 Mary Quigley 0.0 68.8 61.2 64.8 194.8
17 Laura Choake 0.0 67.8 66.6 58.7 193.2
18 Dario Neri 63.9 64.0 61.7 0.0 189.6
19 Fiona McGargill 63.0 63.1 61.1 0.0 187.3
20 Mark Kelly 0.0 63.1 63.1 59.7 185.9
21 Peter Bartholomew 0.0 64.1 58.9 61.0 184.0
22 Miv Chahal 0.0 62.5 61.7 57.5 181.7
23 Richard Winter 0.0 61.1 59.4 56.7 177.2
24 Paul Quigley 0.0 58.1 57.0 55.2 170.3
25 Sarah Levison 0.0 55.2 54.7 56.5 166.3
26 Victoria Grace 0.0 57.0 53.9 55.3 166.2
27 Kathyrn Lawson 56.0 53.9 0.0 50.3 160.2
28 Sue Baylis 0.0 81.3 76.7 0.0 158.0
29 Stefania Williams 0.0 73.0 0.0 71.5 144.5
30 Mark Lyon 70.7 70.8 0.0 0.0 141.4
31 Chris Wright 0.0 69.1 68.3 0.0 137.4
32 Paul Doney 0.0 68.0 0.0 68.5 136.5
33 Elaine Stroud 0.0 69.1 0.0 65.7 134.8
34 Mark Reynolds 0.0 66.0 63.5 0.0 129.6
35 Matthew Bell 66.0 0.0 0.0 61.0 127.0
36 Chris Kenyon 66.2 0.0 0.0 60.5 126.7
37 Viv Ferrier 0.0 63.4 59.8 0.0 123.2
38 Nikki Renton 0.0 57.9 0.0 57.4 115.3
39 Richard Lowe 57.9 56.4 0.0 0.0 114.4
40 Laura Rosby 57.8 55.8 0.0 0.0 113.6
41 Aaron Hoyle 69.9 41.5 0.0 0.0 111.4
42 Kelly Hymer 57.4 53.1 0.0 0.0 110.5
43 Tina Kelly 0.0 51.7 0.0 50.9 102.7
44 Grace Leiper 64.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 64.2
45 Hannah Martin 0.0 74.5 0.0 0.0 74.5
46 Mick Meaney 0.0 72.4 0.0 0.0 72.4
47 Hannah Buffham 70.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 70.3
48 Finlay Ward 65.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 65.8
49 David Legg 0.0 65.1 0.0 0.0 65.1
50 Roland Brown 0.0 0.0 0.0 62.3 62.3
51 Lorna Ward 59.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 59.8
52 David Stroud 0.0 0.0 0.0 58.7 58.7
53 Heidi Finlay 0.0 57.8 0.0 0.0 57.8
54 Alison Britt 0.0 57.7 0.0 0.0 57.7
55 Gavin Townsend 0.0 56.7 0.0 0.0 56.7
56 Lesley Bennett 56.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 56.1
57 Matthias Schmid 55.8 0.0 0.0 0.0 55.8
58 Kelly Graham 55.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 55.7
59 Rachel Grant 55.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 55.2
60 Callum Ward 53.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 53.9
61 Chris Dodd 0.0 53.4 0.0 0.0 53.4
62 Colin Coulthard 0.0 53.4 0.0 0.0 53.4
63 Danni Jepson 0.0 49.4 0.0 0.0 49.4

Bassenwaite Tri – Sat 13th Aug

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We had heard very good reports about Bassenthwaite triathlon but had never tried it before and the date was just a couple of days after a BIG birthday for Chris. He decided to do this one as his first open water triathlon in celebration of the BIG event, however he ended up doing Northumberland sprint tri in June as his first open water tri. I of course would do it too not wanting to miss out on doing a triathlon. We had been checking the weather forecast on the run up to the event and only entered one week before when we knew the weather was going to be OK. Unfortunately for Chris the standard distance was sold out so we had to do the sprint distance instead – phew!!!!

The weather forecast remained good, light wind, no rain, 16C – perfect conditions! On driving along the A66 towards Keswick however, there was rain and lots of it! The clouds were low over the mountains and it looked like it was going to be wet. I checked the weather app on my phone and it said Keswick was dry all day!! Oh dear! Unusual for the weather forecast to be wrong isn’t it?!

We drove on through to Bassenthwaite and the rain did clear up – phew. We drove round the cycle route and saw that the road to the north of the lake was very undulating so we knew to take it easy as we would also be heading west into the wind on that side of the lake. We drove the run route too and found the brutal hill that we would have to negotiate. It didn’t look so bad in the car!

We were initially a bit concerned about the swim route as there were some small sailing boats right where the start of the swim would be and also some random floating oil cans, however, they hadn’t finished setting up the swim route and the boats and oil cans were removed and replaced by the large orange buoys marking out  the swim routes. The motor boats checked the distances and drove round the sprint and standard routes so the competitors knew which way to go. Then it was time for the sprint competitors to get in the water. Now, anyone who has only ever swam in Northumberland lakes like us, it was weird to find the water clear, not completely clear but you could see people around you in comparison to Northumberland lakes where you can’t even see your own hand in front of you and of course the taste of the swam poo.  Bassenthwaite water is safe to drink and no taste J. The water was pleasantly cool, 15.9C to be precise and perfect for swimming in. The hooter went and we were off. I knew I had the swim advantage over Chris and wondered where on the bike he would catch me. The swim route completed and off into transition and out onto the bike.

The bike route initially sends you along the A66 towards Keswick with the wind behind you so we knew it would be quick. Unfortunately the road surface on that stretch was being replaced as the surface was very bad. They had taken the surface on the inside lane which meant sharing the outside lane with passing motorists. Luckily not too many motorists passed by so it was safe enough. We anticipated that when we turned to head back to the sailing club on the north side of the road would be bad, undulating and into the head wind. What we found was that it was actually quicker than expected. The route was also long for a sprint tri at 27km!

Back into transition and onto the run with the dreaded brutal hill. The route was undulating at first and we shared the road with the guys on their bike leg doing the standard tri which is always nice when you get to pass others. Richard Winter was doing the standard and did pass me on this section so I gave him a cheery shout of encouragement. The long route bike section carried on along the road while the run route turned left and there it was, the brutal hill. Head down, tiny steps, keep running, don’t look up – I kept telling myself. I saw 6 or so people ahead and everyone was walking. I would not be defeated! I did run the whole way, although slowly. That was brutal. Cresting the head of the hill it was weird on the legs to be running on the flat again and they seemed to take some encouragement to do so. We weren’t on the flat before long when we turned left to the downhill back towards the finish. The poor standard distance guys would have to turn right here and go further uphill, I felt very sorry for them! Turning downhill, again I had to encourage the legs to try and run properly downhill. I was a bit concerned about my dodgy knees on this downhill bit but they held out. Last little push to the finish line and a bit of a sprint to the line. The run route was long for a sprint tri too at 6.1km. The commentator announced my name and club as I crossed the line and mentioned it was a family day out for us! The commentator was great and created a really good atmosphere.

Bassenthwaite sailing club were hosting the event and Tri Lakeland were the organisers. We were impressed by the organisation of the event and to have the facilities on offer at the sailing club were a real pleasure; refreshments, hot and cold sandwiches, cakes, hot showers, large changing room, plenty of loos, plenty of masseurs. The organisers were very friendly and helpful and created a really lovely event. Swimming in Bassenthwaite was a pleasure.  Although Chris isn’t converted to open water tri’s yet, I think this one is definitely one we will be doing annually unless our summer holidays happen to clash with it. It would make a fantastic club trip out. We hope to see lots of Ponteland Tri there next year. Oh and did I mention the brutal hill?

Results below…