E Wales Cross Country Champs
18/08/2008 by Dick.
Well it’s cross-country weather, so lets start mapping out the new season.
The Gwent League schedule is taking shape on http://www.gwent-league.org.uk/
The first fixture on Sunday 12 October at Bridgend will also be the East Wales Championships. GL regulars will remember that we had some good results at the corresponding Champs last year at Bath. You just fill out the entry form and pay £1 and run the race as usual.
AND the first six runners in each age category will then be selected for the Welsh Inter-Regional Champs at Wrexham on Saturday 13 December (travel up by Team bus).
Smartarses will have spotted that 12 October is also the Mendip Muddle, a Club Champs race. If that’s your preference, you can still be considered for E Wales selection by running well at a Leisure Centre XC or similar (LCL dates not fixed yet).
Or should you prefer to do the Gwent League/E Wales Champs and aim for automatic selection, then you still have two more Cat B Club Champs to come - the Sugar Loaf on 1 Nov and the Merthyr Mawr on 14 Dec.
Trace the Rain
18/08/2008 by Lou.
It was lovely to see a familiar face at the start line of Race the Train, and on the course, thanks to Chris from Griffithstown, for your support. I think Dee had a good run, not that I could see him, but he was close to our Ivan.
And it was good to see our friends from Fairwater at the evening do. Congratulations to Jeanette Jenkins on her prize in the 10k race.
Lou
and thanks to Niki ( alias ’second female Chepstow Harrier’) for writing……………………………………………….
….Trace the Rain
It was good to see Chepstow Harriers pairing down to absolute essentials and eschewing all creature comforts to enjoy a weekend’s camping in the mountains of mid Wales. Err, well that was the theory. Whilst massing at the leisure centre to board the party bus, those essential items included one television, a gazebo, a party reception marquee, a kitchen stove, airbeds with industrial pumps and enough food to survive a 12 month siege of Tywyn. Another minibus was clearly needed, and that was just for the Welsh cakes.
Those with exceptional spatial awareness skills were drafted in for the herculean task of loading the above items into the minibus, and after consumption of half the Welsh cakes, a forklift truck was hired to load the Harriers into the minibus. Incredibly we managed to drive for a whole 2 hours before anybody needed a pee. Upon arrival at the campsite the pressure was on to erect tents, gazebos, triple vibrating waterbeds, etc. before the chip shop closed. Being culinary minimalists whilst camping, Lou and I made do with pasta with garlic, chillis, fresh basil, pepper, mushrooms, sun dried tomato paste, black pepper, olives and parmesan shavings.
Saturday dawned and the weather was not looking too clement. The path to the toilet block became a treacherous bog fest to be navigated only by the fearless, the bold, or those with a good pair of wellies. The team descended on downtown Tywyn when it became apparent that a) the attractions of the campsite in a terminal rainstorm were somewhat limited, b) a television aerial was an essential purchase if the Olympics were to be watched from the comfort of Martin’s party reception marquee, and c) the toilet roll was at a critically low stock situation in the ladies toilet block, causing much consternation to those of a nervous disposition before a race. The only person wavering for the party bus trip to Tywyn was Steve Caldwell, commenting “the campsite is a much better place to have a pre-race poo” – clearly there was no toilet roll supply issues in the Gents.
The morning trip to Tywyn involved some spectacularly aimless wandering around, the obligatory tea shop faff for a few, and the purchase of some toilet roll and a TV aerial. Back at base, the men began the technical challenge of plugging things into the back of Martin’s car, erecting the aerial, and quite startlingly, making the TV actually work. Thereafter, the team could sit down in any one of the fifty or so deck chairs which had been brought along, and enjoy watching Team GB sweep up its gold medals . There was lots of talk about staying up to watch Paula in the marathon at 12.30 am, which was either exceptionally dedicated or completely bonkers depending on your point of view.
There was a general air of anticipation in camp (or was it just Steve’s pre-race farts?), and the eternal dilemma about when to consume that pre-race banana for optimum performance/ minimum disruption to the bowels. When there was no more faffing, deliberating, procrastinating and obsessing to be done, the team got on the minibus and were officially off to the start of Race the Train. Suzie’s son, George’s job was to heckle the Harriers from the comfort of the train – sensible boy. I’m sure lots of Harriers would have liked to have joined him. The train looked to be a lot of fun – in stark contrast to the prospect of racing 14 miles through mud, bog, hills and finally, just to finish your legs off, road. However being Harriers, and of course very odd, all this added to the appeal, and I think I can say absolutely everyone loved the course and thoroughly enjoyed the race.
All that pre-race toilet preparation had obviously paid off for Steve Caldwell who was first Chepstow Harrier in and 1 of 3 of ours to beat the train. Second was Martin – who put on a sterling performance, battling on despite having a lingering virus. Ivan was third to beat the choo-choo – all in all a storming effort!
1stChepstow Harrier woman was Lou – our ladies captain being the true champ that she is. Second lady in – was – well, modesty permits me from saying… Esther was third Harrier lady only a minute behind the er, second lady. All Chepstow ladies reported loving the race, its terrain, scenery and general ambience . However, the best feature was undoubtedly the goodie bag. I had to pull the team mascot (Maurice the Marmot) out of the bag such were the edible delights contained within. A veritable feast of snacks and drinks in the goodie bag were proving vital to supplement the now diminishing supply of Suzie’s Welsh cakes. The bag even contained a can of deodorant for the less fragrant runner.
The only slight dampener to the event, was the shower which got you er, slightly damp. It could best be described as an ant trying to urinate after spending a month in the desert. It would be fine, if you were trying to wash your little finger, or maybe one toe with not very much mud on it. However, seeing as most of those who finished Race the Train looked like they had spent a week in a mud-wrestling contest, it was perhaps not the most satisfying of experiences. I believe some runners are still in there – having successfully washed and conditioned one strand of hair.
The Harriers returned to the campsite for showers for those who had not managed to have one at the Race HQ, and for those who had.
An hour later it was back in the party bus for ‘free food’ courtesy of the event organisers, a few beers, and the awards ceremony. Sadly the free food cost £4.50 per head – they must have needed the cash to pay for the one functioning shower. Still, the food was surprisingly good. The veggie curry was a taste sensation – but then anything edible would have been a taste sensation such was the surge in hunger brought about by running from one shower to another in the hope of catching a drip, and the small matter of the preceding 14 mile run. The best shower of the day undoubtedly was the one going on outside which was turning the inside of the marquee into a quagmire to rival the campsite. There were some impressive Olympic dashes from the marquee to the portaloos, which I think we should have picked up a team prize for.
So – to the awards ceremony… 1st female vet 40 prize went to our very own Ladies team captain – Lou Summers! What a fantastic achievement for Lou. With such a big field – in excess of 800 runners, that really is something for which she can be proud. The women’s team prize went to Chepstow Harriers. Lou, Niki and Esther picked up some rather natty sports bags. The trio were quite gobsmacked by the whole affair – thinking that perhaps they were a bit crap and not going to win anything. As Andy Creber modestly put it in the party bus on the way back to the campsite “Well, I didn’t think you would win it girls, given that it’s a big event, but it must have been the off-road training courses you have been attending that did the trick”. And who might have been running those courses I wonder…
A triumphant but weary team headed back to the campsite for bed for some, and TV for others to watch Paula’s performance in the marathon for those inclined and with bizarre amounts of surplus energy (obviously not trying hard enough in the race).
All macho talk of climbing Cader Idris the next day evaporated at the first sign of a few wispy clouds, and the team scurried onto the party bus and drove home.
All in all an extremely fun and successful trip. Many thanks for organisers Lou and Dick, special thanks for Andy Creber and Ivan for driving (I won’t mention the stalling Andy), Suzie for the Welsh cakes, and George (Suzie’s son) for his tolerance and patience! Thanks also to Chris for supplying the TV – but can we have a plasma screen next time?
Results (chip times):
Men:
01.34.28 Steve Caldwell
01.35.38 Martin Pengilly
01.36.48 Ivan Teed
01.52.31 Andy Ost
01.56.28 Andy Creber
01.59.09 Bill Savage
02.02.51 Dick Finch
02.17.44 Geoff Bayliss
02.33.07 Dave Andrews
02.42.38 Brett Regulski
Women:
01.55.40 Lou Summers
01.59.39 Niki Morgan
02.00.39 Esther Barrett
02.08.57 Sian Griffiths
02.33.51 Jane Bayliss
02.34.04 Suzie Shepherd
Niki M
