Sunday, October 28, 2012

Cumbria League XC #3: Maryport -Sat 27th Oct

There was fine weather for the third meeting in the 2012-13 Cumbria XC League which took place yesterday (Saturday 27th October), with light winds and warm sunshine.

Keswick's newest junior recruits once again performed well in club colours, Katy Livesey finishing 5th, and Lucy Pye 10th in the U13 girls over 2.8km, while Emma McKinney placed 5th in the competitive U15 girls race over 4.2km.

There was a new course for the U17 and senior runners that took in two laps (seniors) of a loop along the sea front and Brows, accessed by a fast run out and back along a farm lonning from the start/finish. The whole course was largely dry and firm underfoot leading to a fast race from the off.


Carl Bell led from the start and though the lead changed hands several times he was never far from the front eventually winning in 27:14, from Steve Hebblethwaite (27:17), and Kendal AC's Alasdair Russell (27:41). In clocking 31:23 Graham Airey placed 6th place overall, and along with Dave Burton (36:12, 22nd overall) and Steve, helped Keswick AC to a cumulative team score of 30, ahead of host club Ellenborough (34) and CFR (45). The fixture also hosted the 2012 Cumbria County Vets Championships -Graham's 6th place being good enough to take the V35 title -well done Graham.

The senior women ran the same 8.5km course as the men, with Sam Ayers putting her fitness to the test on return from injury to clock 36:03 second only to Eden Runners' Ruth Heatherington (33:54). This secured Sam the FV40 vets title while not to be outdone, only 50 seconds back Hazel Davies (36:53) took third place and the FV45 medal.


The next fixture is at the Sheepmount in Carlisle on Saturday 10th November.

Round Rotherham 50 mile trail race

Just posted a short report and video of this race from last weekend

http://fromrecoverytobeyond.blogspot.co.uk/

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Cross Country 2012-2013 fixtures

A winter of cross country develops a great base for a summer of competition on the fell, road or track while the events are great fun too. Numerous leagues up and down the country are already underway, with many a runner now also tweaking their training diary with the bigger fixtures in mind. Get the following dates in your diary.


Cumbria League

The Cumbria League is now underway, with the next fixture at Maryport this weekend (Saturday 27th October). A friendly league with a number of low key races suited to all standards. All senior races start 1.10pm, junior races at all fixtures start from 12 noon.

Oct 27: Maryport, Netherhall
Nov 10: Carlisle, Sheepmount
Jan 5: Keswick (incorporates Cumbria AA County Championships)



Mid Lancs League

Bigger fields than Cumbria League, and a better standard of competition, well worth the extra drive.

Nov 24: Sefton Park, Liverpool (Incorporates McCain Cross Challenge and Euro Trials)
Dec 8th: Crooklands, Kendal
Jan 12th: Wilson Playing Fields, Hyndburn
Feb 9th: Lancaster University 
Mar 2nd: Beacon Park, Skelmersdale

More details at http://midlancs.org.uk/ 

Cumbria AA County Championships

Jan 5: Fitz Park, Keswick


Northen Championships

Jan 26: Knowsley, Cheshire

More details at http://www.noeaa-athletics.org.uk/

English National Championships

Feb 23: Herrington Park, Sunderland

More details at http://www.englishcrosscountry.co.uk/


CAU Inter Counties Championships

March 9: Cofton Park, Birmingham

Details at http://www.ukcau.co.uk/





London Marathon


We are still waiting to hear how many club entries we will get for next year's London Marathon. As soon as we hear, we will let everyone know, and invite applications. Another way to enter is to apply to run on behalf of a charity. I get quite a few emails about this - including one recently from Traidcraft. For details, check out their website here.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Round Rotherham 50 mile trail race

Finished the season off in style with a new pb, knocking 1:15 hours off previous best time. 22nd place in 8:04 hours. Tried sooooo hard to break 8 hours but just had nothing left.


http://www.rotherhamharriers.org/events/RRR2012/results2012.htm

The 2012 Derwentwater Ten

This year's Derwentwater Ten will be taking place on the 4th November 2012 and we already have over 250 runners pre-entered.  We will continue taking pre-entries up to Sunday 28th October and runners will also be able to enter on the day.

As always, we are hoping and expecting a good turnout from the Club and I'm eagerly looking forward to seeing an abundance of green and yellow on the start line.  But if for any reason you aren't racing but have a free Sunday, we would be really grateful for any help that can be provided.  The DW10 is always a logistical challenge and requires volunteers before, during and after the race.  So if you can help in any way, please get in touch with Steve Harwood who will issuing a formal request for volunteers shortly.

Many thanks,

Ian

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Cumbria League XC #2: Penrith -Sat 20th Oct

Well done to all the Keswick AC runners that took on the testing course at Frenchfields yesterday -a great showing from the club with a strong men's and ladies team out, and excellent performances by juniors Katy Livesey and Emma McKinney. Photos are at www.athletesinaction.co.uk

Katy Livesey

Emma McKinney

Formation running from the ladies. L-R: Hazel Davies, Helen Winskill, Sam Ayers

Victoria Haworth

Steve Hebblethwaite

Ian Davies

Jonny Beetham

Craig Smith

Rob Jones

Cumbria Cross Country (Penrith)

Well done Team Keswick!  Good to see so many people out.  No results yet but will post as soon as I receive them.

A special well done to Keswick AC Juniors Katy Livesey and Emma McKinney. Emma was chuffed to wear a Keswick Vest for the first time albeit borrowed!

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

ERRA National Road Relays 2012

Below is a press report from the relay that took place on Saturday.  The road relays have proved to be tremendous fun and I would urge anyone to train hard and break into the teams.  Hopefully this year will set a precedent for KAC being present at the road relays to complement the fell relays in the future.  It would also be great to see a ladies team entering the 4 stage relays in 2013. 

Keswick AC had qualified for the National Six Stage Road Relays as a result of finishing in the top 25 clubs at the equivalent Northern competition held in Leigh in September.  This was a great success for a club which has always had a strong presence on the fell-running scene but for many years had been absent from the national road relay competitions.      

But for a while it seemed that the effort put in by the Keswick team was to have been to no avail.  The planned venue for the National final was in Sutton Park, Birmingham.  But due to an e-coli outbreak the event had to be cancelled and there seemed little enough time for an alternative location to be organised.  It seemed that one of the most prestigious road running events on the UK calendar was not going to happen this year.

But shortly after the cancellation had been announced, rumours began to abound that an alternative venue had been found.  And after some hasty work by the English Road Running Association the announcement was made that Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire had indeed been secured for the event and the relays were back on!  This was welcome news for all clubs, including Keswick AC, who had qualified via the regional relays and runner’s training schedules were quickly rearranged and travel arrangements organised for the race.

Clumber Park was to prove an excellent venue for the race and a more than adequate substitute for Sutton Park.  The National Trust property was an exquisite setting with rolling countryside and prodigious woodlands.  The runners were once again blessed with fine weather; the skies remained clear for much of the day and the rain which had been forecast held off until the last of the runners had finished.

The format of the Nationals mirrored those of the Northern Relays.  Namely each team is made up of six runners with each runner having to complete the same course and same distance.  The National course proved to be a little shorter than its Northern equivalent with a two loop run of just over 5 kilometres.  The course designed was excellent for both competitors and spectators alike; there were plenty of good vantage points for the viewers to watch as the race unfolded and the loop included a mix of undulating and fast running to test those taking part.     

The Keswick team had decided to replicate the same running order that had performed so well at the Northern relays.  So the onus was once again on Club Captain Steve Hebblethwaite to tackle the opening leg.  Each club was keen to get their respective efforts off to a positive start and consequently there were some strong runners on the start-line.  And the leg one runners did not disappoint with a ferociously fast start.  But Steve avoided getting caught up in the initial excitement and ran a tactically astute race to work through the field, picking off runners who had expended too much energy at the start.  Steve ran a time of 16:18 and Keswick AC found themselves in 45th place at the handover.

The middle triumvirate of John Beetham, Josh Hebson and Ian Davies were once again given the task of holding a steady position for the Club.  Each has shown considerable improvement on the road during the year and with Beetham running 17:44, Hebson 17:07 and Davies 17:58 they managed to place the Club in 51st place going into the final two legs.

The pattern of the race was to follow that of the Northern relays.  Keswick had strategically placed two of their stronger runners at the tail-end of the relay and such a plan was to pay dividends.  Russell Maddams, a week before he was due in Italy to represent Great Britain in the International 50km race, proved he is no slouch over the shorter distance running 16:43 and bringing Keswick AC into the top 50.  It was then down to Carl Bell to run the final leg and, repeating his excellent performance at the Northern relay, Carl went on to reel in a number of runners in a time of 16:07 and taking Keswick AC into 46th place. 

This was a highly satisfactory result for a Club the size of Keswick AC, considering they were competing against some of the finest Athletics sides from across the country.  Cumbria was to be well represented with three clubs finishing out of the total of 55.  Joining Keswick were excellent teams from Border Harriers in Carlisle (25th) and Barrow & Furness Striders (33rd).
 
The winning side was Newham & Essex Beagles finishing in a combined time of 1:30:36.  There was some tremendous racing for the podium spots as Newham held off strong challenges from Liverpool Harriers (1:31:07) and Belgrave Harriers (1:31:16).  Johnny Mellor of Liverpool Harriers was to record the fastest individual time of the day clocking an amazing 14:23 for the 5km distance.

Monday, October 15, 2012

RAB Mountain Marathon video

I filmed some nice video clips when I was running the RAB MM and have put them together into a short film (about 18 mins) giving a taste of what the race/weekend was like.

http://fromrecoverytobeyond.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/rab-mountain-marathon-video.html

Dave

Keswick ladies win at Langdale - results now out

Slippery, muddy conditions but fantastic weather for the Langdale Horseshoe at the weekend. A good turnout for Keswick and congratulations to the ladies (Lesley, Rachel, Victoria, Sarah) who won the team prize.

1. Ben Abdelnoor (Ambleside) 2:13:14
2. Gary Greenhow (Ambleside) 2:17:32
3. Tom Brunt (Holmfirth) 2:18:28
48. Adam Jackson (Keswick) 2:46:54
57. Andrew Slattery (Keswick) 2:53:38
70. Donald Ferguson (Keswick) 2:56:01
71. Suzanna Brett (U/A) 2:56:31  1st Lady
95. Paul Johnson (Keswick) 3:04:59
118. Craig Dring (Keswick) 3:12:22
188 Lesley Mallarkey (Keswick) 3:30:44  2nd LV55+, 3rd LV40
191 Rachel Slattery (Keswick) 3:31:16
193 Victoria Haworth (Keswick) 3:31:28
225 Sarah Bennett (Keswick) 3:42:01
266 Siobhan Brewer (Keswick) 4:00:25
278 Chris Clark (Keswick) 4:12:31
279 Kim Clark (Keswick) 4:14:48

Excellent photos on  www.fellrunner.net

Full results on www.amblesideac.org.uk

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Cross-Country

The cross-country season is upon us and next week's race is at Frenchfields, Penrith.  XC is a brilliant training event, so why not join us?  All abilities welcome.  Expect lots of mud, sweat and tears (of joy on having finished!)  I'd love to see Keswick have men's and women's team win the league.  Phone me (01900 825974) or e-mail sam.ayers@tiscali.co.uk if you're new to XC and have any questions or concerns.  Fell shoes are fine, as are XC spikes.

Great event today at Cockermouth, well done and thank you to Noel Hakeman, Steve Harwood and Derwent AC for orgainising.



All details here (XC Poster and Entry Form):

http://www.bodyfitpersonaltraining.co.uk/BodyFitPT.php?page=Resources#notes

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

An Evening with John Fleetwood – long distance mountain adventurer



Message from Dave Sargent (Eden Runners):
“Wild Walks and Long Days – The Soul of Adventure”
An Evening with John Fleetwood – long distance mountain adventurer
Venue: St Andrew’s Church, Penrith
Date: Thursday 25th October
Time: 7:30 p.m
Tickets (available on the door on the night) are £5 and include light refreshments
Proceeds to Penrith Mountain Rescue Team and a couple of local churches
Dave Sargent
01768 863000

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Friday, October 5, 2012

Training Event

Wednesday 10th October, 6.30pm, Braithwaite Village Hall, £5

Details of the next England Athletics evening can be found here.  The focus for the evening is physical preparation followed by use of the foam roller for injury prevention.

All welcome.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Three Peaks cyclocross

Sunday 30th September was the 50th Anniversary edition of the Yorkshire Three Peaks Cyclocross. This 37mile 5000' monster race was held in atrocious conditions with 50mph winds and driving rain on the tops. A field of 600 started but only 504 made it back to Helwith Bridge.

Rob Jebb won his 9th title in 3:09, a good 10 mins ahead of his closest rival. First lady was Victoria Wilkinson of JD Cycles in 3:59.

Winkle beat me by slightly less of a margin than the thrashing he gave me in the Manx End to End MTB race earlier in the month.

1.Rob Jebb - Hope Factory Team - 3:09:21
2.Paul Oldham -Hope Factory Team - 3:19:55
3.Nick Craig - Scott UK - 3:25:02
107. Toby Cushion - Honister '92 - 4:23:23
158.Phil Winskill - Beacon Wheelers - 4:38:43
290.Andrew Slattery - Wheelbase - 5:07:07

 This is the hardest and best thing I've ever done on a bike and would thoroughly recommend it to anybody who likes carrying their bike up fells and hurtling down on a rigid road bike with skinny tyres and virtually no brakes - what could possibly go wrong? 

www.3peakscyclocross.org.uk

 Apologies if I've missed anybody out.

Ravenstonedale 10K


The Ravenstonedale 10K is fast approaching and will be held on Saturday 24th November. Full details and pre-entry form at http://howgillharriers.co.uk/ravenstonedale-red-10k-sat-24th-nov-2012/. As well as the ‘main event’ the usual two-mile junior fun run will be at 12 noon, spot prizes given etc, and from personal experience the playground is very useful for occupying smaller legs whilst bigger ones are running!

Happy running,

John Hosker
admin@howgillharriers.co.uk

Monday, October 1, 2012

Brampton-Carlisle 10

Entry forms for the Brampton-Carlisle 10, which is the next and final counter in the 2012 Keswick AC Club Road-Championship, are now available here:


Note the change of date from the Saturday, to Sunday 18th November.

The results from the other 2012 Road-Championship races can be found here:



Points in the 2012 Championship are based on runners' best two results from the three championship-races. Full details of the 2012 Road-Championship here.