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January Jottings – Thame Runners Monthly Bulletin. Hello everybody and welcome to our first bulletin of 2012. The bleak winter days are with us for a little while longer but already the evenings are starting to pull out and the last two Sunday mornings have been magnificent. The cold bright frosty conditions and invigorating air are just the thing to put a spring in the step as we do our best to assuage those post- Christmas blues. It’s a busy time at Thame Runners as the new championship campaign gets underway and the club committee plan the year ahead. An exciting year stretches ahead and we hope that as many of you as possible will take part in at least one of the events over the next twelve months. Club Championship The charming village of Woodcote played host to just over 400 runners who took part in the Goring and Woodcote 10k., organised by the local Lions Club. It’s a perfect course to shift those unwanted pounds gained over the festive period. A rather innocuous first 5k lulls the first time runner on this course into a false sense of security which is quickly dispelled by a seemingly endless climb from the 7k mark. Lord Andy Byerley made light of the eye- popping gradient by moving another couple of steps towards a podium finish by claiming 4th place, following his 6th position in 2011, but the star of the morning was undoubtedly Olive Patchett who was running her first 10k. for many a day and ended up walking away with the female vintage veteran prize, leaving a number of much younger athletes chewing her dust. Well done Olive, is this the start of a magnificent comeback we wonder? As you probably know, the club championship has a different format this year. Gone is the old 3rd division which has amalgamated with Division 2. As there was no relegation last year, Division 1 now has 12 runners. The scoring system remains the same i.e. 10 points for the first runner to finish in each division, 9 points for the second runner and so on. Please make a date in your diary for the upcoming events in the championship. February 19th Hardwick X-Stream (approx. 10k.) February 26th Winslow 10k. March 3rd Berkhamsted half marathon April 1st White Horse half marathon (race already sold out) May 13th Marlow 5 mile May 15th Charndon 5k. June 5th Banbury 5 mile Hooray for Howard Whilst we’re in back slapping mode, did you realise that on certain Monday and Wednesday evenings we are in the presence of running “royalty”? Oh yes indeed. Apart from being a front runner on training nights, our Hon.Sec. is also a very accomplished 800 metre runner on the track. In the latest rankings “Hurricane Howard” Papworth is the 3rd fastest runner in the V55 category in the whole country. Well done Howard, big respect to you mate! Breakfast Run 22nd Jan This coming Sunday there is another of the increasingly popular breakfast runs, following the success of our two similar events in 2011. If you want to be a part of the next “bacon buttie” get together, please assemble in the square at Long Crendon at 8.00 a.m. where “Gatwick Steve” Graham will be taking us over the fields and valleys of the locale. We were due to eat at the Flowerpot café but due to unforeseen circumstances this will not be possible. Steve and Diane have very generously offered to host the breakfast at their house; Perrotts Cottage (by the Angel Restaurant, on the corner of Sandy Lane). There will be a breakfast of bacon and sausage rolls (+veggie option), orange juice, tea and coffee. The cost will be £3 per person. Non runners and family members are still welcome to come along - simply send them directly to Steve's house. Structured Training Runs The great success of the past few months has been the rise in popularity of our very own Mr Motivator, Dave “no pain,no gain” Hartwell’s lung busting interval sessions around the winter warm up loop of the Sycamore Rise estate. Numbers have increased week on week and the sessions have attracted members of all abilities, all running under the watchful eye of top coach Dave. If the idea of increasing that stride length floats your boat, come along and try it out.Future dates are as follows and all sessions leave the Sports Centre at 7.00 p.m. Wednesday 18th January Monday 23rd January Wednesday 1st February Monday 6th February Wednesday 15th February Monday 20th February Wednesday 29th February Get Ready for Teddy! For the last couple of years Thame Runners have fielded a team or two in the long established Teddy Hall Relays in Oxford. The venue for the race is the iconic Iffley Road track, where Sir Roger Bannister was the first man to break the four minute mile. Just being at the track evokes memories of that grainy film footage from 1954 on probably the finest day in the history of Great Britain athletics. Obviously being a week day it may be difficult for most of us to take part. However, if you are free on Wednesday 7th March, and would like to be part of this great annual festival, please contact Andy Byerley, via the web page, or speak to him on one of our training nights. Have a “looky” at Hooky If you can’t make it to the Teddy Hall action, four days later the club are hoping to enter at least a couple of teams in the annual Oxfordshire Road Relays, held at the North Oxfordshire outpost of Hook Norton. An administrative mix-up meant we missed out in 2011 but we’ll definitely be strutting our stuff on Sunday 11th March. Having been there myself I can personally vouch that this is a really enjoyable morning, where having given your all on one of the three mile legs, you can unwind in the social club bar for a chat with fellow athletes and enjoy a refreshing glass of the locally brewed world renowned ale. I ask you, is there any better way to spend a Sunday morning? All change at the top table At our last meeting a number of committee members have stated that they will be stepping down at the club’s Annual General Meeting in April. The date of the meeting will be Monday 2nd April at a venue to be announced. If you’re thinking of playing a bigger part in the affairs of Thame Runners, maybe you would like to step forward and put your name forward for the election which will take place on the evening. The committee sits just six times a year to make the decisions as to the future direction of the club.Positions up for nomination are Chairman, currently held by Andy Byerley Social Secretary, currently held by Richard Slater Kit Secretary, currently held by Alison Croughton Annual Dinner and Prize-giving Time to brush down the tuxedo and slip into that party frock for the club’s big social event of the year. This is the night when we applaud the efforts of the club championship and cross-country prize winners and reminisce on another great year for Thame Runners. Any speeches will be roundly cheered, or jeered from the rafters if they drone on too long. Please come along and be part of the celebration. We are currently looking into a number of possible venues, but the date has been pencilled in for Saturday 28th April.Please keep an eye on the website for an update on arrangements. Cross Country Capers On Saturday 14th January our intrepid cross-country squad travelled to Upton Court Park on the outskirts of Slough to compete in Match 4 of the current Chiltern League season. It was a beautiful winter’s afternoon with dazzling low sunshine. Shame about the bone jarring temperatures! The team battled gallantly and secured enough points to lift us to 7th place in the division. There was another typically barnstorming run from Lord Andy Byerley, with eye-catching performances from Richard “Shuffle Shoes” Slater and “Battling Bruce” Lawton. There was also a special welcome for debutant, Jason Tolputt, whose all round sporting expertise has taken him from ice skates to cross-country spikes in one giant leap. If you want to know more, have a word with Jason on one of our training nights.Also making her first appearance in a Thame vest was Andi Lovegrove, who despite finding the pace a little bit swift, thoroughly enjoyed her afternoon.Just one match to go in this 2011-12 season and that means a return to windy Wing on Saturday 11th February. Come on Thame, this is our big chance to end the season on a high note. A 6th place finish is certainly not beyond our reach. Let’s go for it!! Thame 10k. Okay, I know it’s a long way off but I can’t close this bulletin without a mention of the club’s showpiece date which takes place this year on Sunday 24th June.This is the day when we put something back into the sport we enjoy all year round. All we ask is a couple of hours of your valuable time to marshal the race on this Sunday morning.If you’re also willing to offer help with other tasks before and after the race then this will be much appreciated by the race committee who work hard to make the Thame 10k. a great success. Here’s hoping you can be part of our magnificent team on the 24th June? Here comes summer! Yeah I know it’s a tad premature but there’s no harm in dreaming of long hot summer days.... and nights. Won’t be long now before we start compiling our list of SWET runs for 2012. If you have a favourite run between 7 and 8 miles (starting and finishing near a pub!) maybe you would like to suggest it to the committee for inclusion in the schedule. We’re always looking for new locations to add to our tried and tested routes. Keep those Raybans handy! Keep on running! Rod Lavers. |
