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shire Vets League
The Lion’s Tale
The monthly newsletter of Stainland Lions Running Club
November 2014
From The Chair
Hello lovely Lions!
The clocks have gone back and the evening are dark, so dig out your
head torches, luminous bibs, reflectors, flashing lights or pop to Aldi just make sure you can be seen on club runs!
And as we creep into autumn, we start thinking about the event of the
year – the club’s annual dinner and presentation night. The date for
diaries is Friday 27th February 2015 and it will be hosted at Berties. It’s
£29.50 a head but numbers are limited so get your names down, pay up
& put in your food order. It’s going to be hard to beat last year’s event
for entertainment value but we’ll certainly give it a go!!
October has been a wonderful month. I love the changing colours and
falling leaves – although admittedly there wasn’t much of that in Ibiza
where I threw myself over the handlebars and Mr M got eaten alive by
mozzies on a mountain biking holiday. Both incidents were entirely our
own fault and irrespective we had an absolute blast and can’t wait to go
back next year!
The rest of the Lions have certainly been busy too! Marathon cherries were popped at York for Paula Statham,
Mike Dunning and Ranjit Uppal. Paula did a blinding sub-4hours for her first marathon – what a superstar – and
Ryan Thompson’s training and determination paid off too as he has now achieved his sub-3hr marathon!! Across
in Amsterdam, Tim Neville put in a fantastic half marathon run despite being up partying til 2am the night
before ... and Jimmy Smith continues his globe trotting running with a little half marathon in Thessaloniki.
Closer to home, Mags Beever WON the Bradford 10k (1 st lady) and Helen Faye continued a phenomenal return to
form at Wirral half marathon. And there was a huge pride of lions roaming in Bradley Woods for the Woodland
Challenge ... what a fantastic race hosted by our friends at Stadium Runners! Championship tables have now
been updated .....!
More dates for diaries – the last Vets race of the season is on Sunday 9th November at Spenborough. Wear your
poppy and come along as it’s a lovely route, good food afterwards and your points can help us towards more
silverware!! And as Vets season finishes, so cross country starts! Our new captain, Steve Boyer, has been busy
and dates for all the races are on the forum. First race is Dewsbury on Sunday 6th December and our home race
will be on Sunday 4th January from Heath. We will need marshals (as well as runners) so if you are free, please
let Steve know via the forum.
It is also lovely to see Lions organising lots of weekend activities too - runs of all sorts of distances and paces,
bike rides – we are a truly sociable bunch! Much of this organising is done on the forum so make sure you check
in regularly – use the “view unread posts” tab in the top right corner to only see new stuff.
And finally, a little reminder that the club draw for 2015 Virgin London Marathon places will take place on
Thursday 6th November at Heath after the club run and catch up meeting. Rules apply so check the forum and
if you qualify, pass your papers to me or the men or ladies captains (Dave Hutchings & Sally Caton) in time for
the draw. And bonne chance!
Well, there goes another month ... before you know it, it’ll be ... the Christmas Tree Run!!!!! My absolute
favouritest run of the year! Start looking for your “titfer” now as I have decided to award a prize for the best
one!
Happy running folks,
Tx
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Julie Field’s Race Diary
**Those race highlighted in RED are Club Championship
Races (GP races)
November 2014
SUN 16/11 09.30 ABBEY DASH, LEEDS 10K ROAD RACE *PB POTENTIAL* £20
SUN 23/11 10.00 BARNSLEY 10K ROAD RACE, ROYSTON £11
SUN 30/11 10.30 LEEDS XMAS 10K CHALLENGE £12.50
December 2014
SUN 07/12 10.00 GUYS 10 MILE ROAD RACE near PRESTON £8
SUN 07/12 09.30 PERCY PUD 10K ROAD RACE,SHEFFIELD **SOLD OUT**
SUN 07/12 10.00 1ST X-COUNTRY DEWSBURY 5-6 MILES *FOC*
SAT 13/12 08.30 REGULAR IRREGULAR (LDWA EVENT), BROCKHOLES £7
3 LOOPS; 11.6MILE, 7.2 MILE & 4.2 MILE; DO ALL 3 AND RUN 23 MILES
SUN 14/12 11.00 MYTHOLMROYD FELL RACE (BM) 7 MILES £5 ON DAY
SUN 21/12 11.30 THE STOOP FELL RACE, HAWORTH (BS) 5 MILES £4 ON DAY
SUN 28/12 11.00 HOT TODDY 8.9K ROAD RACE £4
FRI 26/12 TBA BOXING DAY FUN RUN, STAINLAND APPROX 3-4MILES ROAD
WED 31/12 11.30 AULD LANG SYNE FELL RACE (BS) 6MILES £5 *PRE-ENTRY ONLY*
January 2015
SUN 04/01 10.00 2ND X-COUNTRY STAINLAND 5-6 MILES *FOC*
SUN 11/01 11.00 GARSTANG 10K ROAD RACE, NEAR PRESTON £10
SAT 17/01 08.00 HEBDEN 15 OR 22 MILES - OFF ROAD (LDWA) £11.70 *RACE NOW FULL*
SUN 18/01 10.00 BRASS MONKEY 1/2 MARATHON, YORK *PB POTENTIAL* ENTRIES TO OPEN END
OCT/EARLY NOV
SUN 18/01 11.00 FOUR VILLAGES 1/2 MARATHON ROAD RACE, CHESTER £20
SUN 25/01 09.30 MELTHAM (TOUGH) 10K ROAD RACE £10
SUN 25/01 10.00 3RD X-COUNTRY SKIPTON 5-6 MILES *FOC*
February 2015
SAT 07/02 10.00 WADSWORTH TROG (BL) 20 MILES FELL RACE £7
SUN 08/02 10.00 4TH X-COUNTRY TEMPLE NEWSOME 5-6 MILES *FOC*
SUN 15/02 11.00 LIVERSEDGE HALF MARATHON ROAD RACE £13 *RACE LIMIT: 500 AND FILLS UP
QUICK!!*
SUN 22/02 11.00 HUDDERSFIELD 10K ROAD RACE £10
SUN 22/02 11.00 SNAKE LANE 10 MILE ROAD RACE £16 *RACE NOW FULL*
March 2015
01/03 14.00 5TH X-COUNTRY BAILDON 5-6 MILES *FOC*
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Thessaloniki Half Marathon
By Jimmy Smith
My wife Yvonne phoned me to say “what about this holiday in Greece for
October?”. It all sounded good but I said it will have to be after the Plusnet
Yorkshire Marathon which I was doing on 12 October. So we booked for the
following day. I like to see if I can get a race in while away so I Googled
Thessalonki running. Lo and behold up came the Thessaloniki Half Marathon on
Saturday night October 18. It was just six days after the Yorkshire marathon but
would help me from overdoing the food and drink while on holiday. So it was
entered on-line. I also booked a car for the holiday as we wanted to get around a
bit and airport transfers had not been included.
We decided to have a day in
Thessaloniki on the day before the
marathon. It was 40 minutes from where
we were staying and is Greece’s second
city with a lot of history. I also meant
that I could collect my race number,
chip and tee-shirt. Collecting the
number was not that easy as nobody
seemed to know where the Thessaloniki
International Fair was. However, we eventually got there and quickly got sorted
out. We also saw the ancient Greek and Roman buildings along with a lot of more
sites from across the centuries.
The race starts at 6:45 on the Saturday night and is on closed roads constituting
three laps around the Thessalonki streets and shoreline. With the roads being
closed I was expecting access and parking to be a problem on the Saturday
night—parking seems to be a constant problem in Thessaloniki like most large
cities. I got there early and dumped
the car by a café and walked to the
start hoping I would remember
where I left it.
I had a last drink before the start
and took my first “selfie” as Yvonne
decided to stay at our hotel due to
our usual problem in spotting each
other at major city races.
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Many runners were warming up as
the sun went down. However, I
don't bother warming up when it is
a big race of half marathon or
more as you are forced to start
slowly until the runners spread
out. It was also still 23 deg C.
Soon enough though the sun went
down and we grouped up awaiting
the off while radio control helicopters hovered about photographing the scene.
The race itself was pretty flat running around the streets which were pretty
dark — do they have proper street-lighting in Greece or can they not afford to
turn it on?
There were plenty of drinks stops and teams of young ladies cheering on the
competitors, with doing three laps you soon get to know your way around. The
wheelchairs had set off just before us and so I caught some slower ones and the
faster chairs lapped me later on—as did the fastest two runners.
Before you know it the race was run any I had completed it in 1:45:44 which
was far from a PB but I was pleased with it with the running that I had been
doing recently.
At the end I was swamped with medal, foil blankets, bottles of water, banana’s,
sports drinks, recovery bars and some strange potion. This was a container with
powder in the lid that you dropped into the vial of liquid, shook and downed like
a tequila slammer. I think it was probably some sort of recovery salts, carbs and
proteins etc. So I joined in with the downing with no ill-effects.
It was then back to the car and so on to the hotel for a shower and a drink or
three. I found my way back to the car after 10/15 minutes walking but realised
that now with the roads closed the city was getting severely grid-locked. The
traffic was hardly moving. The drivers did not seem to want to let me out of my
parking spot, perhaps seeing that I was a runner who was the cause of their
ructions. Eventually, I got out and my blessed GPS found a route back through
the city avoided queues and blocked roads, having to constantly de-tour.
Anyway, back at the hotel, Yvonne had a large beer waiting for me, delicious!
We flew back two days later and were sat next to a Greek lady who lived in the
UK but had been back to attend a wedding on the Saturday. Being runners, she
and her husband were interested in the race and to hear about it. They also said
that the bride and groom at their wedding did not get to their wedding
reception until 11:00pm. They had got caught up in the traffic jams after doing
the photos! It looks like I was lucky to get back my hotel by 10:00.
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Club Championship Report 31-Oct-14
By Mark Preston
The club championships is in its 12th year this year. There are 4 events still to
go; Guy Fawkes, Spen Vets, Dewsbury X country & as always the Hot Toddy just
after xmas to round things off.
In that time there is only 1 person that has won the 1st division twice, Richard
Hand in 2012 & again in 2013. In fact, 2013 was a joint win with Mark Pottinger.
The division has also seen 2 lady winners, Mags Beever in 2007 & Aileen
Baldwin in 2010. This year will see yet another new champion.
The main contenders can be seen below
Name
Points
Races Completed
Matt Higham
165
9
Ryan Thompson 156
9
Ed Hyland
135
7
Tanya Seager
134
8
Craig Miller
128
8
Liam Gough
118
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Matt Higham has had a fantastic year, but Ed Hyland with 2 results still to count
& Liam Gough with 3 to count mean that it's all to play for.
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Division 2 seems to be a battle between the ever consistent Danielle Kobab on
171 points & the less consistent but much improved Andrew Laird-Boldy on 169.
There have been a number of noteable injuries this year from some of the major
contenders, Julie Field, John Bassinder & Amando Zito, but some strong
performances from some of our new members, Kevin Jaggar, Trevor Yestor & the
rapidly improving Jim Harris.
Division 3 has proved as brutal as ever, possibly due to the side-bet that I
understand has taken place among some of the runners. Top dog currently is
Martin Wood with 219 points, hotly pursued by Tony Mott on 217. John Hirst on
211 & Tim Neville on 209 are still well in contention. Elsewhere good
improvements in year from Michael Greer & Matthew Gadd.
Paula Statham has been in outstanding form all season winning all the events she
has entered apart from the Park Run. Graham Teal, Helen Fay & Tania Blackburn
have been swopping table positions all season. I wouldn't like to predict the
eventual outcome. The current standings are Graham 170, Helen 166 & Tania
163.
Division 5 has seen a resurrgent Brian Conroy, winning 9 out of his 11 races to
take maximum points. Ray Mooney is looking favourite for 2nd place. 3rd place
is going to be a real battle with Wendy Harrison, Paul Armitage, Dawn Medlock &
Claire Guest all in with a fighting chance.
The tighest Division of all is Division 6. Laura Thompson & Paula Pickersgill are
currently in joint 1st on 169 points each, with Judith Greenwood & Alison
Pearson on 166 & 160 respectively. They all need to watch out for Joanne
Cooke though, with 5 wins from only 6 races this division really is going to go
down to the wire.
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Race Results
Race Results
Woodland Challenge
Woodland Challenge (continued)
Pos / Time / Num / Name / Cat
Pos / Time / Num / Name / Cat
6 00:38:45 156 Ed Hyland Male
8 00:39:12 142 Matt Higham M40
12 00:40:45 117 Liam Gough Male
16 00:41:04 265 Tanya Seager F40
22 00:42:22 288 Ryan Thompson Male
27 00:43:28 236 Mark Pigford M45
28 00:43:48 21 Margaret Beever F35
29 00:43:56 299 David Webb M45
34 00:44:42 206 Craig Miller M45
39 00:45:15 175 Danielle Kobak Female
50 00:46:10 134 Jim Harris M40
59 00:47:12 176 Andrew Laird Boldy M40
60 00:47:16 159 Kevin Jaggar M45
68 00:48:05 307 Martin Wood M50
73 00:48:21 88 GARETH DUCKWORTH M35
75 00:48:23 179 Trevor Lester M35
76 00:48:31 243 Mark Preston M50
78 00:48:44 213 Anthony Mott M35
83 00:49:26 130 Simeon Haigh Male
88 00:50:12 198 Paul McCormick M45
93 00:50:38 356 Ailleen Baldwin F60
97 00:50:46 157 JOHN INGLES M45
98 00:50:47 126 Michael Greer M35
101 00:50:58 144 John Hirst M45
103 00:51:06 232 Craig Phillips Male
105 00:51:15 113 Sandy Gee M55
111 00:51:38 105 Gaby Ferris F40
115 00:52:19 271 Graham Smerdon M40
117 00:52:37 109 Matthew Gadd Male
120 00:53:07 287 Emma Thompson F35
121 00:53:10 104 Helen Fay F50
125 00:53:25 57 Brian Conroy M60
126 00:53:30 187 Mhairi-Clare Luke F35
133 00:54:17 154 Helen Hudson F45
136 00:54:23 71 Steven Crowther M45
146 00:54:57 285 Graham Teal M50
150 00:55:22 222 Liz Norman F35
151
152
153
154
158
163
167
168
171
183
194
206
210
211
215
219
244
245
246
249
250
252
253
256
265
266
269
270
274
277
287
292
301
302
303
304
305
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00:55:23 194 Karen Marsella F40
00:55:24 66 Paul Corns M45
00:55:24 244 Ian Quigley M50
00:55:32 210 Raymond Mooney M50
00:55:42 129 Claire Guest F35
00:55:57 91 Michael Dunning M40
00:56:22 28 Steve Boyer M50
00:56:26 360 Tracy Mott F40
00:56:36 45 Martin Carr M40
00:58:17 155 Dave Hudson M55
00:59:26 343 Tim Walker M50
01:00:46 135 Wendy Harrison F40
01:01:04 151 Chris Howarth M40
01:01:20 338 David Rushworth M45
01:01:59 59 Joanne Cooke F40
01:02:19 108 Simon Gadd M45
01:04:52 234 Paula Pickersgill F45
01:04:58 344 Jenny Walker F50
01:05:04 219 Garry Nicholson M50
01:05:31 85 Jessica Doyle Female
01:06:13 189 Roy Lunt M40
01:06:15 337 John Rushworth M45
01:06:19 230 Alison Pearson F50
01:07:27 13 Paul Armitage M50
01:08:13 124 Judith Greenwood F65
01:08:14 289 Laura Thompson Female
01:08:39 228 Lisa Pearce F35
01:08:40 267 Sue Shepherd F55
01:09:30 302 Sally Mcgregor F35
01:10:25 48 Anne Cawdron F55
01:11:30 19 Jackie Barker F55
01:12:30 221 Denise Nicholson F45
01:16:15 240 Stephanie Potts Female
01:16:26 322 Mel Shaw F40
01:16:38 279 Sharon Stott F40
01:16:51 202 Dawn Medlock F50
01:18:45 30 Richard Brear M50
Race Results
Ultimate Craziness
Corner
Yorkshire Plusnet Marathon
Name / Time / Info
184 miles UPHILL
Ryan Thompson - 2.58.15 PB and 90th
position from almost 4000 finishers !!
Rachel Cullen - 3.16.29 - PB and 19th
female overall !!
Jimmy Smith - 3.41.56
Paul Corns - 3.52.09
Paula Statham - 3.56.11 - PB Broke 4 hours
in first marathon !!
John Thompson - 4.06.34
Gail Schofield - 4.25.14
Michael Duning - 4.53.45 - PB first
marathon, great result !!
Julie Johnson - 4.57.41 - Sub 5 hours !!!
Linda Williamson - 5.09 Rachel Cullen
1.33.58
Thessaloniki Half Marathon - 18 Oct
Pos / Name / Time
525 Jimmy Smith 1:45:44
James Pension completing
the Thames Path 184
184.8 miles from the mouth to
the source of the Thames.
Amsterdam Half Marathon
Name / Time
David Hutchings 1:27:04
Tim Neville 1:43:45
That means that it is uphill all
the way! Ed
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Sports Shoes are offering 10% savings to Stainland Lions members.
The code to get your 10% saving and free postage this month when ordering from
the Sports Shoes website is:-
http://www.sportsshoes.com/
Input the above code at the checkout.
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Social events for your diary
The Annual Dinner at Berties
Friday 27th February
The Annual Dinner will be held at Berties on Friday, 27th February. The price is
£29.50 per person. If you would like to join in the revelry (and who wouldn't?!),
can you please add your name and menu choices to the thread on the Forum
THE FINAL DATE FOR NAMES AND MENU CHOICES IS FRIDAY 16TH JANUARY.
On Arrival - Bucks Fizz, hot sticky sausages & veggie option
Starters
Marinated Seafood Salad with plum tomatoes, prawns & peppered mackerel
Farmhouse Terrine with ginger & plum chutney served with fresh tomato bread
Creamy Sweet Potato Soup, lime & chilli crème fraiche
Spinach & Ricotta Tart, cherry vine tomato & toasted pine nut salad
Main Course
Guinness Braised Beef & Potato Pie with flaky puff pastry & rich gravy
Honey & Lemon Glazed Roast Breast of Chicken, green beans & herby pearl barley
Cod Fillet, sautéed fennel, dill, red onions & balsamic tomatoes
Potato, Garlic & Gruyere Pie, balloti bean, celeriac & wild mushroom casserole
Puddings
Treacle Tart with English clotted cream & raspberries Warm Dark Chocolate & Walnut Brownie & milk chocolate sauce
Apple & Blackberry Crumble & vanilla anglaise
Coffee & chocolate mints.
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