White Horse Relay sunday 5th
03/09/2010 by Vanessa.
Hi all
you may/may not know that this Club relay is taking place on Sunday, starting at 9am and finishing 4/5pm in Wiltshire, around Devizes and Marlborough.
If you are in the area or fancy a trip out to support then the runners will be delighted to see you.
For details have a look at
www.whitehorserelay.org
or ask Dick/Vanessa
Run the Railway Path - Your Help Needed
01/09/2010 by Dick.
Many members will remember the campaign a couple of years ago to convert part of the old Wye Valley Railway line into a safe path for walkers, cyclists, wheelchairs, horseriders and so on. The support and funding are in place, and a new planning application has been submitted to Monmouthshire and FoD councils.
Our committee agreed then to support the plans, and the time has now come to put all our weights behind the application.
You can help hugely by registering yourself on the campaign website
http://www.wyevalleycycling.org.uk/
So far 996 local people have done so, and reaching the magic 1,000+ mark will show the planning authorities the amount of support behind this terrific opportunity.
Then if you could follow the guidelines and write to your council, you will have done such a lot towards making this marvellous idea a reality for all Harriers and their families.
The Part Week Ahead
31/08/2010 by Dick.
Sorry dear Reader, I could have sworn it was Sunday yesterday, and thus I thought I still had a day to post the Week Ahead.
Anyway I can report that tonight’s (Tuesday’s) session of 40 minutes of tempo running round the field was very popular and hugely enjoyed by all. Well everyone looked happy when it was over… Great to see some of Monday’s Machen Mountain runners having the energy to run on Tuesday as well.
So just Thursday to tell you about, and that starts off with the Three Woods, followed by Rogerstone Grange, up the fields to Pen-y-Parc on the St Arvans/Devauden road, across the fields towards Gaer Hill Farm, and then down the hill to St Arvans and back. Or cut it short by turning right onto the road at Pen-y-Parc and running back via St Arvans.
Machen Mountain 10k
27/08/2010 by Vanessa.
A reminder of Monday’s 10k which is also the August club championship race and the last counter in the South Wales fell series. (the latter interests fewer than 10 runners in the club so don’t worry if you don’t have a clue what it means. Just come and run anyway)
Starts at 3pm in Machen, near Caerphilly. Meet at LC at 1.30 to share cars.
If you want to make your own way then the postcode I believe is CF83 8QD - well, this is the postcode of the organiser who lives in Machen. It’s not a big place so no doubt it will be fairly clear where to go once you get to Machen village. 26miles from Chepstow per the AA website, 35 mins drive. Below is a link showing the start on a map.
http://www.multimap.com/maps/?zoom=11&countryCode=GB&lat=51.595&lon=-3.1356#map=51.59395,-3.13533|17|4&bd=useful_information&loc=GB:51.59397:-3.13534:18||
Can enter on the day at £7.50.
Re footwear, don’t ask coz I don’t know. I guess off road shoes but I don’t know if fell shoes are an advantage or whether road shoes are a disadvantage. If in doubt take several pairs and see what everyone else is wearing when you get there. That’s what I’ll be doing.
See you there!!!! Weather looks good too - bonus!!!!!
The Week Ahead 23 August 2010
23/08/2010 by Dick.
Members from the Tutshill area – no need to run over to the Leisure Ctre on Tuesday! We’re doing Ivan’s Windmill Hill session in the field over the road from the Castleton Home.
And Vanessa invites everyone to take their mountain bike to Chepstow Park Wood on Wednesday at 7pm for a timed ride round most of the paths we ran round a couple of weeks ago. The route has been improved by substituting an easier section for the rather technical last descent we finished on in the recce.
On Thursday we’re running the freshly cleaned-up Nun’s Walk route. If you did Mark’s Hash recently, it’s almost the same route in reverse, but without the Piercefield Inn. It goes round Barnets Woods, out along the dead-end lane that forks off right part-way up Ticken Hill, through the tunnel at Wellhead Lodge under the Usk Road, along the cleared Long Orchard, through Howick Farm round towards Rogerstone Grange, and back.
Finally a reminder that it’s the August Club Champs race next Monday the 30th. The Machen Mountain 10k does go up and down the mountain, but it’s all runnable, and there’s a tasty buffet afterwards.
http://www.machenwelfare.com/run/run.htm tells you all you need to know.
Mountain bike training ride
23/08/2010 by Vanessa.
A reminder that Wednesday is the next event in the cycling ‘training series’, the off road training ride. Meet at 7pm at the Handicap car park in Chepstow Park Woods. The course is not suitable for hybrids/cyclocross bikes, but there is nothing to stop you bringing them and just riding on the fire trails avoiding the technical bits. Bring mountain biking friends if you like!
It will be a mass start rather than split times. The hills will soon spread people out.
Adjourn to local pub afterwards for a swift half (or whatever).
Any questions please ask.
Leisure Ctre League - Final Results
23/08/2010 by Dick.
Another good LCL season and combined cross-country/road year, and may we thank the LCL Organising Committee for a very successful and popular competition, and all the clubs for their friendly rivalry and hospitality.
Congrats to all team and individual winners.
Follow the links to the results of the last race and the final standings
lcl-200910-combined-series-after-all-10-races.pdf
lcl-road-race-series-2010-after-all-five-races-2.pdf
lcl-2010-road-race-5-result.pdflcl-2010-road-race-5-result.pdf
White Horse Relay Sun 5 Sept
18/08/2010 by Dick.
It’s time to get serious about our two teams for this new venture. It’s a new relay that takes in all the ancient white horses carved across the Wiltshire chalk hillsides. The ancient trackways are full of history and there’s some beautiful countryside: http://www.whitehorserelay.org/
We need 7 – 10 runners for each team. Each team runs 14 stages in total, so atleast four members of each team run two legs, which range from 1.9 miles to ten.
So far we’ve got Lou, Gill, Vanessa, Berta, Becky C, Sue, Gerry, Mark, Dick, Colin, Andy O, James, Andy S and Laurie down, so a few more needed, especially women.
Only 2 ½ weeks to go so ring Dick (01291 627569) or Lou (01291 625073 – back from hols on Sat 21st) ASAP!
Bike time trial
18/08/2010 by Vanessa.
24 Chepstow Harriers and friends took part in the second evening timed ride last night. Results as follows:
bike-time-trial-results-18-aug-2010.pdf
Tom was quickest again, albeit a little slower than the previous ride, in a time of 34.23. Esther was quickest woman in 39.22. Good to see so many who had also raced the previous evening in the LCL, obviously good recovery training. Also great to see a few faces who hadn’t been seen for a while.
My thanks to Syd for marking out the course, Colin Parry and James for timing duties, Tom for starting everyone and overtaking all but one rider - you could almost have done the finish as well as the start! And thanks to everyone who came and supported!!
As there is clearly a lot of interest in cycling (as a cross-training method, an alternative way of racing or simply as an excuse to eat cakes) I will be planning some more rides over the autumn/winter, although the next ones will have to be on a weekend due to falling light levels. There will be longer rides too (2 hours ish). Look at the blog for details.
Also next Wednesday 25th there will be an off road ride in Chepstow Park Woods - meet at the Handicap car park to start at 7pm - please be on time as light is limited this time of year and by 8pm it is getting dark, particularly in the woods. If in doubt bring a torch. This will not be a time trial, just a mass start. The course will be floured. Off to a pub after - exact location to be clarified. Please note, it is a course for mountain bikes, not cyclocross or hybrids.
LCL - Simply The Best!
17/08/2010 by Dick.
A big thanks to all the marshals, finish officials, water suppliers, course markers and supporters who made tonight’s LCL race such a success.
And thanks to Martyn and Jeanette Jenkins of Fairwater who organize the series and produce the results so miraculously swiftly. I had the provisional results before midnight, and they show that Chepstow managed to just clinch top spot in both women’s and men’s results. Griffithstown ran them close in both, while Parc Bryn Bach and Islwyn were third.
The LCL has been going winter and summer for what must be well over 20 years now, and is I think the most important event that we take part in. The races provide such good regular competition for all levels of athlete, but equally importantly are marvellous social occasions and a chance to get to know and make friends with runners from the other clubs.
Long may they continue!
