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The last Gwent League event of the season, and, as so often happens, the most distant - not as far as Carmarthen, but far enough to result in my late arrival, but at least I succeeded in arriving, unlike at Aberdare or Bath. However, the portents for this were not especially good - the travel directions received were generated by a MicroSoft package, and contained 23 instructions for the last 10 miles, including such gems as:
At roundabout, take the third exit for 43 yds
Exit roundabout onto B4303 for 142 yds
Continue (North) on B4303
for 0.3 mi
Now if anyone has a device for confirming these directions without getting out of the car or using a compass, I should like to be informed forthwith. It is this sort of thing that gets computers a bad name (I am sure that Bob Hall would agree). In practice, it turned out to be much easier - just follow the signs for the Pembrey Country Park. Except for the last 2.6 miles along the straight road through Burry Port, they were very conspicuous.
On arrival, the climate was much as nearer home - sunny but with a strong, cool breeze presumably off the Severn Estuary, but it might as well have been straight from the Atlantic, and most attendees not running were generally clad in fleeces and/or windproofs. The course was typically country park style - mostly flat, grassy and woodland, but pleasant enough.
I missed the start of the men's race, but from what I saw, the Thornbury team of 4 (unless I miscounted) retained the same formation throughout. Nick, no doubt to his relief, found the conditions to his liking and appeared to be somewhere near his best form; on this occasion he was comfortably ahead of Mike, with Chris and Pete following in procession. Being one short of a full team we were in no danger of challenging for a promotion place, but likewise there was no possibility of relegation either.
I also missed the finish to collect places and times, but this was due to the need to police the runners around the last bend as some were observed to be taking short cuts due to the lack of tapes. I must say that this is not the first time we have experienced this behaviour - remembering Carmarthen when some runners ran off the course to avoid deep mud and shorten the distance, and Blackbridge when on each successive lap the incidence of cutting corners increased. Very sad!
In some respects, the best race of the day was the U15 girls. The competition for 1st place was non-existent - the race was won by a Clevedon runner who, if I did not misunderstand the announcer, had also won the previous 4 events this season. I would guess that she was, say, over 200 metres ahead of the second placed runner, which in a 4400 metre race is 5% - outstanding. In addition, however, there were a number of very competitive finishes for the lower places involving Bristol AC, Westbury H, more Clevedon runners and, of course, the Welsh clubs.
I expect there will be a "proper" report from Nick when he has recovered! Results could be earlier then usual as many were calculated during the event for the end-of-season presentations - but don't, as they say, hold your breath.
Lucky you didn't hold your breath - the results arrived today (9th April), and the individual points have been included in the results page. Individual final positions - Nick was 69th overall, 33rd V40, 5th V50; Terje was 89th overall, 47th V40 (these were the only names listed in the top 100/50 in each category). Well done to Nick and Terje, and to all the others listed in the results page who contributed to a fine season for TRC in Div 2.
DM
..and here it is already!
A host of weak excuses from club members such as running Bath Half Marathon, had to go cycling, give a lift to someone or the season long "I'm doing London" (Hey, London isn't even in the cross country season never mind the same weekend and if you want to get under 2 hours 45 it's an essential part of your preparation) meant that we set off with a depleted team of only 4, the first time in living memory that we haven't at least been able to put out a full first team.
Nevertheless, the gallant 4 got to Pembrey Park near Llanelli to find a course which was extremely dry and was mostly along coastal forest paths. Underfoot was a mixture of grassland, stony path and occasional patches of sand. We each ran our own races separate from each other all trying to make up places for the missing team member. Mike and I both collapsed with the effort at the end. I had a tussle instead with a runner from GWR who has been beating me recently and although he caught me up and tried to barge me off the path I managed to respond by going straight back past him and pulling away to stay ahead until the end.
The course was quite testing with several undulations and some soft sand to run through. There was also a strong wind as we came out of the forest into an open field round the start/finish area. It was certainly a much nicer course than the traffic fumes of the Bath Half Marathon and much more satisfying to be contributing to the club's team in what has been a very successful season for the first team.
Nick
We turned up to Cheltenham for the last fixture of the Gloucester League season on a fine day. The going was firm with some muddy sections on particular corners and the stream crossing quite gentle this year. The ladies team set off first but as the men started only 15 minutes later the ladies were still running and we didn’t see the finish of the race. However, they were led in by Trina and completed a good team season, finishing 7th over all and 3rd in the veteran’s category and in the medals. Well done to those who competed over the season. Carole Bishop also picked up her annual medal finishing first in the LV55 category. Well done, Carole.
In the men’s race I set off quickest for the club but as we turned at the top of the golf course for the first time I was faced with the spectre of Mike Willis on my shoulder trying to ease his way through. This caused an adrenaline burst which took me past the 2 groups in front and ahead of Mike. I knew he was still close behind from the shouts of spectators. After a while the shouts died down and were replaced by shouts for another runner so I thought I’d got away on the 2nd lap and couldn’t see him behind. But Mike was sneakily hiding and caught up again near the start of the 3rd lap. This caused even more effort on my behalf which allowed me to just pull away slightly on the last lap to hang on and, in fact, finish in a very satisfactory position and closer to some other rivals than usual.
Behind us, Jon Greenwood had a fine run and just pipped Chris Pearce by one place. Pete Blenkiron completed the finishers. We only had a minimum of 6 starters. Unfortunately, Grahame Bishop succumbed to injury and had to pull out which meant that with only 5 finishers the men’s team failed to complete the season and were not placed in the final positions. This was very disappointing especially considering that in the same race last year we had 15 runners – shame on the missing 9.
However, we did have enough for a veteran’s team which finished over all in 2nd place (for the 4th time in 5 years). This was especially deserved this season with some outstanding results at Forest of Dean and Plock Court. Individually, we picked up one medal –a very popular 3rd place in the V50 category, in my house anyway, for me.
Nick
Amazingly, after the cold winds of the previous week, it was a relatively mild and sunny day at Blaise, appreciated by runners and spectators alike. That said, as the afternoon passed by, the temperature in the increasing areas of shade dropped markedly, so it was good planning by Westbury Harriers to locate the Finish in a sunny spot.
We had close to a full-strength team in the Senior Men's race, with only one member missing, having apparently expressed a preference for cycling! Mike Willis returned to active service having missed the two non-League events after 7th December and, if not on best form, appeared to be not far off. Indeed, having trailed Nick by ~30 secs for each of the first two laps, he closed the gap to 3 secs at the Finish. However, as in other recent events, Terje was first home for TRC having steadily increased his lead over Nick on each lap, despite feeling unwell on the second lap and putting his medical experience to good use to overcome the problem.
Chris ran a steady race, maintaining his team position and unable to prevent Mike from opening the gap on the last lap, but increasing his lead over Jon Greenwood on that lap. Pete and Phil had a good competition, with Phil having the lead earlier in the race, and Pete taking over at the end of the second lap, but Jon maintained his lead over both. John Grimsey ran independently of the rest of the team (I know the feeling!), but used his superior stamina (I assume you approve of this analysis, John) to gain several places on the last lap. Graham ran his customary steady race, contributing to the team points and helping to ensure that none of the team needed assistance on the final run-in.
Until we receive the complete results, a measure of the team performance is that our first 3 runners: Terje, Nick and Mike were in the first 100 to finish. I hope it is not premature to remark that we seem to be well-established in Div 2 after promotion last year.
I have previously mentioned that one of the few attractions of watching others run cross-country is the opportunity of seeing the leading runners in action, and today was no exception. At the end of the first lap, there was a close-knit bunch of (mostly) Cardiff and Swansea members competing for the lead, and this held the prospect of a close finish. Not so. After the second lap, the eventual winner (Cardiff) was at least 100 metres (or yards) ahead of the rest, and around 200 metres ahead at the Finish. The consistency of his lap times (see Results page) at that pace was almost unbelievable.
After 4 events, Terje is 60th Senior Man (31st V40), Nick 73rd (40th V40, 7th V50), Graham 15th V60 - let's hope we can consolidate these achievements in the last event at Llanelli on 15th March.
DM
A local race and 9 of us turned up to take part - where were the rest of you? Dave Matthews was also doing the honours by helping with the official timekeeping. The course was surprisingly dry although there were still sections where the surface was slippy and muddy enough to cause problems in getting a grip. Pete Mainstone gave us a team talk as we grouped for the start.
Terje set off quickest, as usual, and I had him in sight for a while. On the second lap I was gradually starting to get past a group of runners until I developed a stitch which seemed to move across into the bottom of my throat and caused me to feel awful. I had to slow down and the group streamed past me. I thought about stopping as all the strength disappeared out of my legs and breathing was more difficult. But I found a way of carrying on more slowly but with runners passing all the time. About half way round the third lap a burp cleared the obstruction and the feeling came back into my legs and I was able to pick up and finish normally, picking some places back up again. I had expected Mike or Chris to come past but managed to get going just before Mike arrived and hold him off to the end.
At the finish Terje reported that he had also had a problem with his diaphragm and breathing and had to stop temporarily and slow down while he recovered. It was disappointing for both of us to lose places. We still finished the first 2 for the club so I don't know what the excuse was for the rest of them - I think Pete needs to give them a good talking to.
Nick
Next Gwent event - 15th March - Llanelli
In the end only 3 of us went to the Midland Championships. I travelled up on my own as I was continuing Northwards after the race and arrived about an hour before the start. I collected our numbers from the Magic House and went to the start to warm up and look out for Jon and Pete. Jon and Pete decided not to arrive too early and I'd almost given them up when they appeared just 10 minutes before the start - just enough time to get changed, pin numbers on and get into the starting pen.
The race itself was on a moorland course right outside Alton Towers. It was a challenging course, very undulating with one long, gradual drop and then a severe climb to get back up again and with boggy sections and a stiff wind. It was a 3 lap course of 12 kms altogether. I didn't see Jon or Pete during the race and just competed against those around me - very thick with runners for the first lap, spreading out after that. I was overtaken by running legend Colin Kirkham at the end of the second lap but stuck in with his group and got back ahead on the steep climb and held him off to the finish.
Jon came in next then Pete, who thought we really could do with another lap. I remarked on beating Colin Kirkham, feeling quite pleased to get such a scalp until Pete said "Isn't he in the over 70s now?"
Jon and Pete then had a nervous journey back as Jon had forgotten the key to his petrol cap and didn't have much petrol left. I believe they got back home with a teaspoonful of petrol remaining.
Nick
On a cold day a small team of 6 of us turned up at Purdown, just by UWE for the County Championships. The course was fairly frozen and hard although the surface was melting where it was in the sun making it a bit slippy on top. There were also 2 dips with a bit of mud in. Studs were the choice of the day with the generally frozen surface.
Terje and Martyn both set off much quicker than me. Martyn led for a while but was overtaken by Terje on the 2nd long lap although there were only 2 places and 20 seconds between them at the end. Jon also set off quickly and, at first, I wasn't catching him but went past him just after the icy puddles. Eventually, Jon came in just 9 seconds ahead of Pete Blenkiron. Phil Brown completed the team. In the team results we weren't last. I don't think I ever really thawed out properly.
The most exciting bit was all the police surrounding the adjacent wood and a police helicopter flying overhead, trying to flush out some joyriders who had abandoned their car and run into said woods. Terje had tried to persuade us it was a television crew and that the race would be featured on the local news. He also said we should smile up at the airborne cameras. Was this a tactical ploy to make us take our eyes off the ground and give himself an advantage? Tricky people, these Norwegians!
Nick
We arrived at Plock Court to a slightly chilly breeze and overcast, drizzly conditions (weather forecast colder and drier - not even close). The course was in fairly good condition, mostly good grass with some slippy surface mud in places especially on the embankment and the corner coming off the embankment but not enough to cause me to continue recent falling episodes. As the old pavilion has been knocked down we were treated to the rather plush changing of the indoor tennis centre.
The ladies race went off first with Jo, then Trina leading the team round the first lap. As the men's race started before the ladies finished we didn't see the end of their race although they all seemed happy and in good spirits afterwards.
At the start of the men's race Paul was anxious to avoid any congestion at the first corner and set off so fast that he reported later that he was actually leading the race for a short time. Is this the first time that a Thornbury athlete has ever led a Gloucester League Cross Country race? Although I never saw him in the race, he then, unfortunately, proceeded to loose 24 places and finished down in 25th which is actually a very good position if you haven't lost 24 places to get there.
After the initial burst at the start I looked around and had Chris and Martyn ahead. I managed to have a good section early on and passed both of them in the first half lap. I expected Martyn to come past all the race but he never did and I didn't see anyone from Thornbury for the rest of the race. I ended up in my own efforts against those around me, holding off Hawkins from Dursley and getting much closer to a group ahead than I had in previous races. I held on to a Leamigton athlete for the last lap and actually passed him on the finish. Unfortunately, another group appeared from absolutely nowhere and about 4 or 5 went passed both of us - the rotten lot. Still, it was a lot better than Blackbridge - could it be the benefit of missing any team talk from Pete?
Martyn came in next, followed by Mike who did well running with a cold, but I think he would have done better if he'd warmed up properly beforehand according to instructions instead of insisting on watching that other team from Manchester playing football on television. Chris and Pete Blenkiron completed the team scoring with Phil finishing to great shouts of encouragement.
The next race is the County Championships in January when the weather will be snow underfoot, cold but dry and still - well, you've got as much chance of that being right as getting the real weather forecast.
Nick
We were prepared for the worst. The weather forecast was for rain and force 8 gales. Nothing of the sort - Sunday appeared with blue skies and no rain. All right it did cloud over a bit later on and there was a chilly wind and a 2 minute shower just after the race but nothing like what was forecast. Why is the weather so often diametrically opposite to the forecast? It must be easy earning a living just making up any old weather for the next day.
Anyway, we arrived to a course which was surprisingly dry considering recent rain, with only 2 real muddy sections at the bottom end. We got ready for action and just before the start Pete Mainstone gave his now customary manager's team talk to guffaws of laughter from a nearby Stroud athlete.
It was a fairly crowded start and Terje and Martyn got away much quicker than I did. I negotiated the fallen runner on the first muddy corner but, following my recent habit of falling, managed to put a foot on the side of a rut on the next muddy but straight section. The foot flew from underneath me and I performed several rolls through the mud. Getting running again I could see 2 Thornbury vests ahead across the corner of the bottom field. It was the last time I was to see any Thornbury runners till the end. There is a long run uphill to the top of the fields, across the top and back through the start/finishing area. I just kept going round 3 times, trying to gain places where I could to the end, to find that Martyn had pulled ahead from Terje to reverse the placings at Forest of Dean - could it be a close one for the club championship?
The rest came fairly quickly and we had another good grouping of the 4 first team runners inside between 110 and 150th places. Pete Blenkiron came in with another galloping finish to impress the scorers.
Now, how can I get a job as a weather forecaster and spend my time inventing possible weathers for the future?
Nick
Another great team performance keeping us in 6th place in Div 2 and within "easy" distance of 4th place.
In the O40s, Terje is 40th overall and Nick 47th; in the O50s Nick is 12th.
DM
On a murky, dull day with drizzle in the air, Robinswood Hill encased in cloud and slippery mud underfoot we took part in the Blackbridge Cross Country.
The ladies ran first and well with Jo and Trina together at the end of the first lap with Jo eventually gaining an advantage and Val and Carole together with Val just edging ahead although I did miss the end as we had to get changed for the men's race.
In the men's race I seemed to get off the quickest but, although I had beaten all the club runners who were there quite soundly in the handicap on Thursday it must have taken more than I thought as it just wasn't there today, try as I might (excuses, excuses). Martyn went past early on but I did manage to edge back past him. Going into the muddy, slimy dip into the stream I was behind a runner with no grip on his shoes who slipped and went full length. Being close behind I also slipped trying to avoid him and also went full length to the annoying click of a spectator's camera - what a hilarious photograph that will make! (Don't send me a copy).
At the end of the first, short lap, Pete reported a group of 6 Thornbury runners close together. Going into the second lap Martyn went past very strongly and quickly disappeared into the distance, never to be seen again. Mike went past shortly afterwards but then seemed to fade and I caught up and regained my place. Going up the slope on the far side I put in a big effort to open a gap. It had no effect whatsoever and Mike was on my shoulder and went past again. By this time my glasses had steamed up in the drizzle and weather. One lens was completeley blocked and the other half so I couldn't see very much and had had trouble seeing the correct way so I had to take them off and carry them. This improved vision to a hazy blur and meant I had to go carefully on the descents inbetween the trees. Mike never got far ahead and I was trying to hold off Hawkins of Dursley. I couldn't get rid of him and he went past on the last lap. I just had no acceleration at all and even though I tried to run the last field hard to hold position 2 others went past in the finish. Ho Hum! Well down on Forest of Dean.
John Greenwood continues to improve, finishing just behind Chris as the 5th counter. Phil Brown had his first run of the season and Clive claimed that he'd never had a good race in his life. Martyn is proving to be a very welcome addition to team scoring and was gracious in victory - got you back for Thursday ha! ha! ha!
Nick
We had one or two navigation problems in Aberdare but got there an hour before the start. It was pouring with rain, we warmed up in the rain, my tracksters got soaked as I spent some time trying to find Pete Mainstone in the rain. We got changed in the rain and waited for the start in the rain. We set off in the rain and raced round in the rain which got heavier from time to time. The usual parts of the course were muddy, some quite deep, which you just had to try and push through, and even the paths were awash in water so it was like running through streams.
Tadje had a good start and kept in front to the end. Martin ran his first Cross Country for us in a pair of Neville Stonehouse's old spikes and started steadily but then picked up the pace and came through very strongly, overtaking me on the 2nd big lap and almost caught Tadje at the end (116 and 118 placings).
I just kept sloshing through as best I could. Towards the end of the 3rd lap I was told Mike was only 50 yards behind so I thought I'd better try on the last lap and managed to keep ahead. The two of us and Chris Pearce, who kept a distance behind Mike all the way through, finished in quick succession (138, 141 and 151 placings). With our last counter at 151 this must be the highest position we have ever had for the last counter in the first team.
John had a good race behind, finishing 209 and managed to beat Pete Blenkiron who saved his best till last, absolutely powering the finishing straight at a pace that would have won him the race if he'd kept it up all the way round but actually finished 226 position.
We then went back to the car and got changed in the rain back into damp clothes, not to mention being dripped on by the car. We then drove home in the rain and I didn't get warm till I'd changed out of my damp clothes and washed the mud off.
Karen Mainstone ran in the women's event and finished in 57 position but it was far too early for us to be there in time to see it.
All in all, I'd say it was quite a rainy event.
Nick
If I can add a comment, this must be among our best team performances in the Gwent League - 20th out of 58 teams overall, 4th out of 12 in Division 2, V40s 11th out of 54, V50s 7th out of 28. See Results pages for interim results details.
From the first 2 events, Nick is in 14th place in the Over-50s, and Karen's run is sufficient to keep the Ladies' team out of last place in Division 3.
DM
A bumper turnout of 15 runners for Thornbury.
No confirmed results data for the ladies yet, but very pleasing to see a full team present. (Any reports from the team welcome - DM)
This week I was genuinely quicker than last year - nearly a minute as was Jon, Chris about 30 seconds quicker, Pete about 4 minutes. Some were slower. Paul had an absolute flier and Terje was very good again. With Chris just getting in as last counter we had just about as strong a team as we can get. Good conditions - chilly except when running.
Nick
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