Dinner Dance 2019

We are now taking bookings for the 2019 annual Dinner Dance at Sonning Golf Club..Full details below:

Contact either Anne Goodall at track or Hannah McPhee: socialsec@readingroadrunners.org if you have any queries

DinnerDancePoster-19

 

Golden girl! Here’s why we all love the amazing Jane Davies

LADIES captain Sam Whalley has once again been competing on the XC circuit and then scribbling from the Press Box. Here she files on another golden day for the Roadrunners…

AFTER he won junior gold in the European Cross-Country Championships, Jakob Ingebrigtsen said: “It was a tough race. I have never done anything like this before, and it’s fun to compete in these conditions.”

Conditions? Well it was raining a bit. But tough? The young Norwegian would find more than a few twists and a couple of logs in Prospect Park or Parliament Hill, or even at Horspath in Oxford, venue once again for the SEAA Masters XC Championships.

I bet he hadn’t had to erect and dismantle an event shelter in gale force winds either. (How many Reading Roadrunners does it take to put up a tent on a windy day? As many as you’ve got. This was seriously one of the hardest things I’d had to do all year).

Anyway, there are some of us who love racing in these championships. There is something appealing about being in a race where everyone is over 40. The chance of getting lapped is lower, for one thing.

For others, though, this is just one race too many in a busy competition calendar, and with December already busy for most people, we did not manage to field full teams in all of the age categories, which was a shame.

We were also missing a couple of runners on the day, with Sarah Dooley and Jim Kiddie having picked up injuries the previous week. Thank you, Sarah, for coming to support us anyway — so nice of you!

As part of my recruitment campaign, I had billed this as one of the flattest courses we run. I did half-heartedly look for a course map when I arrived, but assumed it was probably unchanged.

Oops! After we crossed the first field, we were shown right instead of left. Something was amiss — we were heading towards the hilly woods! One and a half laps of the hilly woods, in fact; I felt bad for those running the race for the first time.

“This is a completely different course,” I said to Nicola Gillard as we climbed the first hill, so she would know I hadn’t deliberately misled her. We now knew something about the course that the men would run too, although they were to do an extra lap, with 10k to our 6k.

XC stalwart Cecilia Csemiczky said afterwards that she preferred the course; negotiating woodland, grass, ups and downs made for a more interesting race, with some runners less strong on the technical parts. It was certainly less straightforward than in recent years, and I was pleased to be able to take advantage of a close competitor taking a wrong turn. I did call her back. Honest…

On to the results, then. In this race, there are overall individual results, then individual results in both five-year and ten-year age categories, along with overall team results, and team results in each ten-year age category. Got all that?

I usually report results in the order that the races occurred, but there was no bling to be had there, and we want a big finale.

Suffice to say, there were 225 men in the race, and the scoring team of Peter Aked, Mark Andrew and Tim Grant was 25th. These were all over-50s runners though, and they fared better among the over-50s, being 18th team. Colin Cottell and David Fiddes, the latter having just recovered from a cold, completed the over 50s team.

Bryan Curtayne was our only over-40 runner, although he seems to be missing from the results at the moment, while Alan Freer and Andy Atkinson had good runs for the over-60s, with Alan in 20th place, out of more than 50 over-60s runners. This is a championship for the whole of the south of England, don’t forget. Well done, everyone!

It was the women who really shone this year, though. There were 125 in our race, with overall scorers Jane Davies, Helen Pool and Angela Burley bringing the scoring team home in seventh.

Two of these were over-40s, with Helen being 17th over-40 out of 49, but they needed one more to score for their over-40s team. That was me, and that team was sixth. Nicola Gillard and Claire Seymour ran well, and completed the over-40s.

We only had one over 50s runner, Susan Knight — who is continuing her excellent form. Well done to you all, and hope to see you in the mud again soon.

I’ve saved the best — over-60s women — until last. Dubbing themselves A Hare and Three Tortoises, the team was made up of the superfast Jane Davies, new marathoner Liz Atkinson, ultrarunner Kathy Tytler, and regular Cecilia Csemiczky, who has begun to feel a bit hard done by as an over-70 with no over-70s category to run in.

In recent years, however, the women in this age category have either picked up team medals, or almost picked them up, missing out by only a point or two. We knew then, that with the just-turned-60 Jane on board, their chance of a team prize was high. And we were right, as they collected the team bronze, a great result!

Even better though, and a surprise even to herself, Jane proved that she was the fastest over-60s female in the south, with an individual gold medal.

We have said it would be useful in these races to have numbers on our backs as well as fronts, and this is why — Jane was 27th overall, but obviously did not know the age categories of those ahead of her.

As captain I could not be prouder of this amazing woman, and hope it is the first of many over-60s awards to come. She and the rest of the team are an inspiration to us all. Again, well done, and thank you for making time to run for the club.

Pictures: Andy Atkinson, Sam Whalley

Results: https://www.race-results.co.uk/results/2018/seaam.pdf

When King David reigned in Spain with great feat of Clay

ON a weekend when most Roadrunners were wallowing in cross-country mud, three of our club-mates were competing in sunny Spain. One of them, Liz Johnson, has sent us this report from the Valencia Marathon, where David Clay produced a stunning personal best…

RUNNING a marathon isn’t easy. Many people train for months to be at their best on the day (you crazy 100 Clubbers aside) so if you have a marathon booked in for early December it is maybe not textbook training to have completed another marathon six weeks before, Matthew Brown, or tackled Ironman Wales in September, David Clay…

Anyway, that was the situation Matthew and David put themselves in before the Valencia Marathon.

 

I, being a bit of a magpie and liking all things shiny, was a tad more sensible and satisfied my need for race bling by entering the Valencia 10k, which takes place at the same time. It also allowed me to return to my previous calling of professional marathon support/cheer crew.

Nestled on the eastern coast of Spain, Valencia is a compact, and flat, city that is an eclectic mix of old and new. The temperatures in early December are a balmy 18 degrees and it’s sunny. Perfect running conditions.

The temptation of some winter sun was too much and we all assembled in the city a few days before the race. This allowed some acclimatisation, paella eating, tourism (we saw the ‘Holy Grail’ and an exhibition on Mars where David managed to slightly concuss himself on a holographic Martian), and some gentle warm-up runs through a long, narrow park that surrounds the north-eastern edge of the city centre in what was once a riverbed – pretty cool.

The Expo was well organised although not huge compared to some of the bigger city marathons. What was a pleasant surprise was the reasonably priced merchandise! Sponsored by the Spanish brand Luanvi, we all picked up some nice little long-sleeved training tops for 15 euros – bargain!

On race day morning, we gathered for the customary breakfast of porridge. The race was due to start at 8.30am so, being cautious, we agreed that we would be at the bus stop to take us to the start line before 7am. Given that David usually turns up to things ten minutes after they’ve started this seemed like a sensible plan.

The marathon handbook assured us that extra buses would run to accommodate us all. I think the Spanish definition of ‘extra’ is somewhat different to the expectations of three eager Brits!

The first bus to arrive was absolutely packed and hardly anyone at our stop got on it. We shuffled expectantly along the pavement waiting for the stream of extra buses. Fifteen minutes later we were still waiting and beginning to get nervous.

We then decided to try the metro, which would involve a 20-minute walk at the other end but we wanted to feel like we were doing something. This too was a fruitless task and 20 minutes later we were back in the ever-lengthening bus queue.

After what seemed like ages (it was now 7.50am we managed to all squeeze on to a bus, with David wedged between a seat and a luggage rack. Not ideal pre-race prep but we made it to the start with minutes to spare.

The 10k route was really congested and due to the lateness of my arrival I found myself quite near the back and having to contend with people walking before the 1km marker. I had hoped for a PB but doing the first km 40 seconds slower than I needed to be doing soon put paid to that hope. It was a nice route though that took in the old town and I finished strongly (another negative split) in 48:58.

My next task was to get out on the course to support Matthew and David (after getting my medal engraved, obviously).

I was aiming to see them at around 16/17km and again at 25/26km mark as the loops of the course meant it was a short walk for me.

On my way there I managed to spot the elite field sprint past. The men’s race would eventually be won by Leul Aleme in a super speedy 2:04:31 and the women’s race by Ashete Dido in an impressive 2:21:14. I managed to obtain a high-five off David and a wave from Matthew as they went past. Spotting duties then fell to David’s partner Becci at 30 and 39km.

While we were out on the course, there were many back at home on the tracking app and WhatsApp eagerly watching and wondering whether David’s surge of pace half-way through was sensible. He later agreed it wasn’t

David and Matthew both had different goals and reasons for running Valencia. David wanted to banish the demons of a very hot London 2018 where he felt he hadn’t run to the best of his abilities, while Matthew wanted to enjoy a more controlled marathon than Amsterdam. It’s safe to say they both smashed it.

David casually knocked a whopping 55 minutes off his London time, reducing his PB from 4:19:09 to 3:23:55, although he very much looked like he wanted it to be over 400m from the finish line.

I am now slightly peeved that I can’t rib him any more about me having a sub-4hr time and him not, but seeing all his hard work and training over the summer and autumn pay off just about makes it all right… just.

Matthew, on the other hand, finished the marathon with a big smile on his face only six minutes outside his Amsterdam time in 4:04:54. He also claimed to feel only ‘slightly achy’ in the hours after the race, much to a nearly crippled David’s disgruntlement.

Matthew really enjoyed the course with a lot of it run on wide, uncongested boulevards. It was very much a ‘city’ marathon with great scenery and, apart from near the beginning, the public support was loud and sometimes deafening. The finish line, built over water, was a stunning way to end. Definitely a race he would recommend.

At the end of the race, when he was a bit unsteady on his feet, David was quickly attended to by the medical helpers (nothing serious, just a bit tired and nothing a little sit down couldn’t cure). It was everything you would expect from an IAAF Gold event and the medal was top notch. The added bonus was being able to recover on the beach in December.

The day was rounded off with champagne, tiny sandwiches, and more champagne. All in all, a pretty successful trip and we will reconvene, with a few other Roadrunners, to do it all again in Berlin next September. Can’t wait!

Caroline Jackson Achieves 100 Marathons

Caroline Jackson finally achieved entry into the prestigious 100 Marathon Club last week when she crossed the finish line at Larnaca Marathon 2018.

‘It feels like a dream. Having my friends & family here with me is just the icing on the cake’ Caroline commented.

Not only has she run 100 Marathons but she’s ran them in style clocking up over a third outside of the UK and all in 7 years. She’s also been on the podium many times including first lady at Limassol, Cyprus marathon and second lady at both Hunsruck in Germany and Liverpool.

It was a group occasion as Caroline was joined by her partner Paul Monaghan  (they call themselves #TeamJackMon) and many members of Reading Roadrunners plus other friends from various clubs at the Larnaca marathon were she finally nailed her 100th. Her family were also there to witness the presentation and join in the celebrations after she crossed the finish line.

Well done from all of us at the club.

 

 

 

Sweet “Run” Chicago

Chicago Marathon Week 2018 by #TeamJackMon (Paul Monaghan and Caroline Jackson)

UK, Europe, North Africa, even New York we have ran them all, but now was time to return Stateside and a good for age qualifier gave us a chance to have a crack at Chicago.

Elizabeth Johnson, Caroline Jackson, Brooke Johnson, David McCoy & Paul Monaghan just before the start.

We weren’t the only Roadrunners on this trip, amongst the other participants were Brooke and Elizabeth Johnson, David McCoy, and Simon Davies, and some of other friends from the 100 Marathon Club plus fellow traveller & runner Peter Mizzi .

It’s as much about the city & culture as the race so we decided we’d spend a week visiting and believe me it was a week well spent. We can’t recommend this city enough as it can be described with most superlatives we can think of.

For the first few days we were fortunate enough to stay with one of Caroline’s friends Sandi who she had last seen 18 years ago. We’d stay with her and her family on the outskirts of Chicago and then spend the remaining time Downtown. We therefore were able to experience the city from a local as well as a tourist’s perspective

Sandi had a very nice meal prepared when we arrived and was great for them both to catch up, they were just as interested in our culture as us in theirs so we spent most of the evening comparing different American & English versions of words over a home cooked dinner followed by cookies.

The next day it was down to business so we headed to the expo which appeared to be similar to the expo in London. We walked there with David McCoy and his girlfriend Christina. It was our lucky day as we got to meet Paula Radcliffe and also get our bibs personally signed.  Caroline had previously met her at a running event sponsored by Nike back in 2014 but nothing beats having and been able to treasure her sign our very own Chicago race numbers. We may even get to frame then (eventually).  Riddled with jet lag we headed back to Caroline’s friends for an early night and some traditional Deep Pan Chicago Pizza (a very thick crust and what appears to look like a great pie rather than a Pizza), but it was delicious if not calorific. Just the tonic for a marathon the next morning (Hope no nutrition experts are reading this)

Paul & Caroline are joined by Paula Radcliffe

Next morning we had to rise before sunrise at 4.15am, it was dark and raining on our subway ride into downtown. We did love the trains in Chicago as it felt like we were on a movie set high above ground. The transit system is officially nicknamed the “L”. It’s elevated subway with open air segments dates from the earliest days of the elevated railroads.

We arrived at Grant Park (the location of both the start and the finish of the marathon) just before 6am and thankfully the rain stopped. As it became light we just had a few clouds covering the skyscrappers. The location of our bag drop was directly next to the Buckingham Fountain, this is a great Chicago landmark dating back to 1927 when it was announced as the largest fountain in the world, the fountain itself represents Lake Michigan, with four sets of sea horses (two per set) symbolizing the four states: Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana that border the lake.  Obviously this became a good spot for photo opportunities and videos.

Both Paul and I had the same start corrals and our start time was just after 7.30am.  With some good music and the announcement of Mo Farah on the start line, there was a good buzz and feeling of excitement as we eventually crossed the start line. Unless you’ve ran a big city marathon the feeling of euphoria as you start is hard to explain, but I guess it’s part of the addiction we have to marathon running.

We both found the marathon to be pretty similar to New York, although Chicago runs through 29 different neighbourhoods and New York runs through 5 boroughs.

All the different neighbourhoods allowed us to experience and run through different cultures, architecture, historic buildings and residences. Caroline enjoyed the neighbourhood of Pilsen, we got to see and hear Latin American music & dance, and the Mexican’s were great spectators.

Paul liked Chinatown, festive and bright and full of character. We entered Chinatown through the Chinatown gate at mile 22. We were greeted by cheerleaders, Chinese music and dragon costumed dancers.

It did rain a little whilst we were running, it was quite a heavy downpour at one point but it did not dampen our spirits  as the constant cheering crowds & music were a welcome distraction. Thankfully the rain stopped and we were able to cross the finish line in dry conditions.  As 45,000 were running this event, the finish was slightly congested as to be expected, but the organisers coped with this so well and didn’t rush us along as they do in so many events.

Caroline finished in 3hr 47mins which was her 97th marathon and Paul finished in 3hr 54mins, (we’ve lost count how many he has now done…) J
David McCoy & Brook Johnson both ran a sub 3 hr with a brilliant 2:44 & 2:55 respectively. Elizabeth Johnson also ran an excellent time for her debut marathon finishing in 3:58 whilst Simon Davis ran a 5:14.

As usual we finished pretty close together, Caroline had enough time to take a few photos and have a little chat with fellow runners.  We walked to collect our medals and grab our goody bags.  There were also bananas, baby tomatoes and something more refreshing, a free can of the locally produced Goose Island IPA, this certainly went down well.  The girls giving out the goodies were very cheerful and broke into song making us smile; I think they felt like celebrating with us.

After the race and when we had warmed up a little and got changed, we headed over to the post-race party which was held on Butler Field, about a 5 min walk across from the fountain and baggage area. We caught up with Simon, Liz and Brooke and also some of our other pals including Peter Mizzi who was on top post race form as per usual and even managed to supply us with American styled slippers 🙂 . We all agreed that it was a fantastic experience, more so for Liz who had just completed her first marathon.

Rather bizarrely the weather in Chicago throughout our stay went from one extreme to the other, heavy rain storms to hot and sunny at 29c and then down to 10c on the day we came home.

After the marathon from Monday onwards and when we relocated to a hotel downtown we tried to visit as many of the local attractions as we could, our hotel was perfectively located as we were just off the Magnificent Mile.

The Architect boat tour is one we’d definitely recommend as give an amazing insight into the history of the city whilst cruising the river to a backdrop of high rise buildings. This we followed with the excellent Chicago Riverwalk joining some pals from the 100 marathon club.

Another great trip was the Languitas brewery tour brought to us by a very entertaining and passionate guide. This commenced from a room that wouldn’t have looked out of place in Charlie & the Chocolate factory. We half expected Willie Wonka to greet us on arrival.

We even visited Chicago theatre land to see the excellent Tootsie brought to life for a stage musical.

The Navy Pier is like a city within a city and also a must see. Best time to visit is in the evening with its many restaurants, boats and attractions plus great photo opportunities against the Chicago night time sky line. It’s just buzzing with life and in a league of its own.

 

No trip would be complete without a trip to the Hancock Tower to visit the bar & restaurant Signature room on the 95th via an elevator that reaches it in 40 seconds (the fastest in the Western hemisphere so rumour has it ). We enjoyed it so much we visited twice, the last time watching an unforgettable sunset across the city whilst sipping cocktails.