October, 2021 Newsletter (No 452)

Adding Up The Miles

October saw the return of many long-distance races (10 miles and above) since the Covid interlude and no fewer than 18 Taddies took part in 8 of these events encompassing 1 x ultra, 3 x marathons, 2 x half marathons and 1 x 10 miles. It has always been a habit of mine (some may call it an obsession) to add things up and I can tell you that this comprises a total of 438. 93 Taddie miles for these events. In this month’s newsletter is a picture gallery of some of these race. Unfortunately not all runners have been captured on camera (not all of us are as photogenic as the others).

Also in this month’s edition we have some excellent race reports plus a welcome return of the Diary and Results features.

This is the first newsletter for many years in which Stephen Robinson has not had a hand in its production as Stephen has decided to step down from his duties in this respect but I would like to take the opportunity to thank Stephen for the enormous amount of work he has put in to ensure that all members receive a quality product and I especially would like to express my personal gratitude to him for the expert advice and guidance he has given me since I took up the editorial reins.

Winter Training Plan

https://www.tadworthac.org.uk/training/

The Dick Clark Memorial Parkrun

There was an excellent turnout at a rainy and muddy Banstead Woods on Saturday, 30th October as over 20 Tadworth AC members braved the conditions to honour the memory of our sadly departed former friend and revered club mate.

Mark Todd summed it up most appropriately with the following comment on the TAC Facebook page:

“Lovely to see Sarah and so many club mates remembering a fantastically kind and inspiring man. Congratulations to Simon Booth on coming first in the parkrun too! Dick would’ve been proud of Simon and all of us.”

October Running Gallery

The London Royal Parks Half Marathon by Jim Duffy

Sunday, 10th October, 2021

This was my second running of this event (the third if you include the virtual version in April which I was obliged to do to secure my place this time). The first was in October, 2012 on my 65^th birthday when I got my place via the Cancer Research.UK charity.

The day got off to a bad start although I didn’t realise it at the time. I parked my car near to my local railway station in order to catch the 7.07am train up to London along with my support team comprising my wife, Sue , my daughter, Lisa and her 2 miniature Dachshunds, Rufus and Archie. We parked the car in a parking restriction zone designated so because of “Crane Operation” ie the removal of a crane from a nearby building site. The restriction applied over the whole weekend but as the crane had been successfully removed by Saturday evening then we assumed that it was now OK to park there as we were not impeding or obstructing the removal process. However, when we returned to the car later in the day we had been issued with a penalty notice resulting in a £70 fine. This was Reigate & Banstead County Council demonstrating a complete lack of common sense with their “Rules is rules” attitude. Or maybe it was because I had complained about our bin men strewing litter all down our road on social media earlier that week!

The train up to London Victoria was predictably rammed with runners. The London Royal Parks half marathon is a popular race and is always heavily oversubscribed. So it was standing room only as the train approached its destination but I think Rufus and Archie rather enjoyed sniffing the multitude of sweaty trainers that were conveniently at their nose level. From Victoria it was a single London Underground stop to Green Park in which was located the quaintly named Start Village where the runners had been instructed to gather. This was a change from the previous years’ meeting place in Hyde Park due to Covid regulations. My eldest daughter, Catherine joined us in Green Park from her home in Poplar where we had all watched the London Marathon roll through just a week ago. Catherine was wearing a bright orange sweat shirt which would help me pick out my family group from among the throng of spectators lining the route. The runners were to set off in 4 waves as has now become customary in highly populated races and, thankfully, I was in the final wave otherwise I would have had to get up at sparrow’s fart to get there on time. When my wave (maroon) was called we had to walk for a good half hour to the starting point on The Mall which was adjacent to the 4 mile mark which enabled us to see the earlier starters come through. Amy Van Wyk told me later that she saw me run past her and Marcel at this point as they waited on the starting line. To be fair, it must have been difficult to miss me in my high octane running outfit. The brightly coloured shorts were a birthday gift from my daughters and if anyone wishes to look as dashing as I did you can check the options out at:

https://www.happystride.co.uk

There were a number of other changes to the event this year apart from the compulsory PCR and natural flow testing. These included the absence of water stations so runners would have to carry their own although there would be opportunities to refill containers at various points along the way. We were warned though that there were likely to be lengthy queues at these stations. I therefore invested in a hydration pack from Decathlon which I only managed to test once before the actual race. I have to say that I felt a bit like Quasimodo wearing a bra. As it turned out, however, because of the forecasted hot weather on the day the organisers relented and a limited number of water stations were provided. Consequently, I had little need for my hydration pack which turned out to be an unnecessary additional weight to carry.

The start was very congested as was to be expected and overtaking proved to be difficult for the first few miles but, to be fair, I had no aspirations of recording a good time as I had just on the previous weekend returned from a two week holiday in Corfu. The first week of our holiday was spent floating on the Ionian Sea in a catamaran which didn’t present any opportunities for half marathon training and the second week in a villa on the side of a mountain which gave us beautiful views and did provide running opportunities but of the exceedingly steep variety. But my main concern regarding my fitness was that since this was our first holiday in almost 2 years I was determined to enjoy myself so didn’t skimp on the eating and drinking opportunities that were readily available to us on the bountiful island of Corfu. I am now embarrassed to confess that I didn’t give it the slightest consideration!

Although the course had been changed this year I thought it was excellent particularly because it was flat for most of the way with the occasional gentle slope and it was especially pleasant running alongside the Serpentine. I felt pretty good up to the 9 ½ mile mark when I think my holiday food and booze excesses kicked in and I rather struggled thereafter. However, I managed to find something extra in the final half mile when I pushed on and managed a sprint finish with the spectator cries of “Come on, old fella” spurring me on.

I have to say that the organisation for this event was excellent and the crowds tremendous and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone. However, I would suggest that if you are travelling up to London from your local rail station you should be careful where you park your car before you board the train!

Ladies’ XC Surrey League

Richmond Park: Saturday, 16^th October,2021

47 Laura Palmer 30:10

77 Ellen Childs 32:31

125 Sam Fountain 35:00

152 Jane Munn 37:02

Next fixture:

Saturday, 13^th October. Wimbledon Common. 11.00am

Men’s Surrey XC League by Dan Berry

Saturday, 16th October: Epsom Downs

With such a long wait since Lloyd Park nearly two years ago it has felt some time coming to be out there running Cross Country for TAC again. Having thrown my hat in the ring to be captain something like 18 months ago it was slightly surreal when the day finally turned up. The aims of my tenure are relatively simple. Get promoted this year and stay up next year. Plus have some fun and drinks doing it. All of this hinges on the talented gentlemen of TAC getting involved and us collectively pushing towards glory.

Behind the scenes we have been working hard to make sure we got a decent turnout and with 15 or 16 confirmed the question was could we get a second team out on the day by getting 20 runners to attend. This became slightly obsessive for me as I thought this would be a great way to start the season. With 18 down to arrive Jim Duffy amazingly offered to come and run for us and then over the hill on race day came Simon Palmer. What legends you both are! Made my day! On the day Simon apologised afterwards for being a bit slow. I am not sure he realised how important him just turning up was! (See the maths further below). So to him and Jim I give the biggest of thanks. Don’t underestimate how welcome you will be if you can just turn up on the day and get around.

With 20 turning out we had the chance to get off to a solid start. Buoyed by this Simon Booth flew off at the start like man possessed with the rest of us streaming after him into the autumn sunshine. Paul O’Callaghan brought us home in a very respectable 14^th overall and 5^th in Div 4. He now heads up the V40 category with both myself and Simon Booth close behind in that age group, looking to make it a TAC 1,2,3 if we can. Dave Williamson is 2^nd in the the V50 so well done as well. Special mention to Jake George who is really flying at the moment and was a mere 20 seconds off Simon and 4 seconds ahead of Dave Williamson. That hard work is paying off Jake and good luck in your upcoming marathon. I think that everyone is very excited about Jake’s progress and it’s great to see after all his efforts. Also nice to see the “TAC effect” on a newer member, which I have benefited plenty from myself!

Special mention also to Phil “Hot Tubs” Stevens who flew into the finish like a man possessed and just managed to overhaul new(ish) member Will Henderson for the final spot in the top 10. Great effort from both of you. Phil is another one who seems particularly on it currently and it is great to see people like him and Garry Edwards working so hard at the moment. So well done to everyone and special mentions to people making their TAC cross country debut who I think were: Jake; Warren; Marcio; Will; Tim; Barry and Mick. Hopefully I have got everyone! Also special mention to Dave Williamson who told me this insane stat. He has run 75 cross countries in a row, having not missed one since he joined the club in 2001. I expect the same level of dedication and longevity from the rest of you! 😉

So the “A Team” are in 2^nd place with 281 points after Holland scored 226. I won’t lie I was hoping we could get into 1^st place but they were a bit stronger at the tail end so we have work to do. The “B Team” are romping away in 1^st place with 124 points and Holland in 2^nd with 329.50. Simon and Jim contributed 48 points between them which would have been 175 had they not shown up. So please, please don’t underestimate the importance of just showing up and trotting round even if you aren’t fully fit. It all goes into the bank!

Results are (based on Div 4 placings):

5^th Paul O’Callaghan

9^th Daniel Berry

15^th Simon Booth

16^th Jake George

19^th David Williamson

20^th Warren Diogo

39^th Ian Matthews

42^nd Garry Edwards

54^th Marcio Lopes Ribeiro

67^th Phil Stevens

69^th William Henderson

71st Tim Collins

72^nd Akshay Kumar

80^th Mark Lowther

82^nd Sam Rohde

84^th Barry Panayi

103^rd Mick Kilkenny

105^th Simon Palmer

115^th Paul Schnell

154^th Jim Duffy

We celebrated this awesome afternoon’s work by going to the pub and restoring our depleted hydration levels. Then the tougher of our group continued onto the TAC 40^th birthday celebrations which looked more energetic and mentally demanding than the cross country itself! Good work all.

Denbies is next on SUNDAY 14^th NOVEMBER at 3.00pm. First aim is to get minimum of 20 runners out. Next aim is to make sure those first 10 close some points on Holland. Third aim is to have a drink afterwards and discuss tactics in the Derby Arms. Get it in your diaries and let’s go again. Please commit if you can and help us continue the march to glory.

Thanks to everyone for all your efforts. Lots of injured or non running supporters out which is always very much appreciated and again big thanks to Simon Palmer and Jim for getting us over the line. See you at the next one.

Results

2^nd October, 2021

Bison Ultra Trail 100k

3 John Melbourne 10:06:40

3^rd October, 2021

London Marathon

826 Dave Williamson 2:48:10

961 Paul O’Callaghan 2:49:42

1,933 David Freeman 2:58:50

5,933 Laura Palmer 3:29:50

79,89 James McClintock 3:41:03

11,887 Paul Schnell 3:57:26

18,816 Susanna Speirs 4:28:07

21,371 Sam Rohde 4:39:24

35,372 Gareth Phillips 7:08:50

Bewl Water 10K

70 Michael Clark 56:17

124 Liz Clark 1:08:23

10^th October, 2021

Manchester Marathon

2,611 Ian Matthews 3:34:19

London Royal Parks Half Marathon

6,655 Jim Duffy 2:15:45

8,270 Vinny Chauhan 2:30:36

9,404 Amy Van Wyk 2:52:52

17^th October, 2021

Great South Run 10M

3,247 Steve Burke 1:27:20

Titsey Trail 10K

24 Marcio Lopes Ribeiro 45:46

87 Michael Kilkenny 53:42

214 Heather Fenton 1:07:38

23^rd October, 2021

Beachy Head Marathon

15 Simon Booth 3:13:19

206 Garry Edwards 4:09:15

South Downs Trail Half Marathon

41 Paul Taylor 1:48:54

Diary

NOVEMBER, 2021

Saturday 6^th RPAC Priory Relays. Reigate Priory. 01.30pm.

Saturday 6^th Thames Meander Marathon & Half Marathon.

https://www.hermesrunning.com/thames-meander/ – entry

Sunday 7^th EA Coaching with John Clements. Epsom & Ewell track. 10..00am

Saturday 13^th RunThrough Battersea Park 5K & 10K. 09.30am. £26.

Saturday 13^th Ladies Surrey XC League. Wimbledon Common 11.00am

Sunday 14^th Men’s Surrey XC League. Denbies 3.00pm

Sunday 14^th Marden Half Marathon & 10K. Tonbridge, Kent.

https://www.letsdothis.com/gb/e/marden-10k-and-half-marathon-189201?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=UK_DSA&gclid=CjwKCAjwoP6LBhBlEiwAvCcthAXI26TJbAUJzkjwCsOaJ9Iys492YMRgjiZBaKB_pejXB5auob7ddBoCsqIQAvD_BwE

Sunday 14^th Phoenix Remembrance Day Marathon & Half Marathon.

Walton on Thames.

https://www.phoenixrunning.co.uk/events/remembrance-day-marathon-half-marathon

Sunday 14^th Second Sunday 5 miles. Wimbledon. 09.30am. £5.00.

Sunday 21^st Hampton Court Palace 10K.

Sunday 21^st Richmond Half Marathon. Old Deer Park. 10.00am. £28.00.

https://www.runuk.co.uk/e/richmond-half-marathon-4047 – rc9818

Sunday 28^th Beddington Park 10K.

https://www.mccpromotions.com/e/beddington-park-10k-3736

Sunday 28^th Richmond 10K. https://register.enthuse.com/ps/event/RanelaghHarriersRichmond10K2021

Sunday 28^th Jigsaw Run 10K. https://register.enthuse.com/ps/event/JigsawRun10k2021

DECEMBER

Sunday 5^th Hurtwood 50K. Dorking. Sports Centre. 08.00am. £60.00.

http://freedom-racing.co.uk/hurtwood-50

Sunday 5^th Weybridge 10K.

https://aat-events.com/events/weybridge-10k/

Sunday 5^th Hog’s Back Road Race 11.4K.

Sunday 12^th Second Sunday 5 miles. Wimbledon. 09.30am. £5.00.

Sunday 12^th Denbies Santa Run 5K. Denbies, Dorking.

https://www.209events.com/uk-running-events/denbies-santa-run-dorking

Sunday 12^th Richmond Park Christmas 10K & 5K.

https://www.letsdothis.com/gb/e/richmond-park-christmas-10k-5k-18461?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=UK_DSA&gclid=CjwKCAjwoP6LBhBlEiwAvCcthENNG3r2HTNYA8O1HeHdNM8exaxm-BHf5kbuEIvUM7U4-s97RcixuxoCPu4QAvD_BwE

Sunday 12^th Holly Run. Reigate Priory

https://www.rpac.org.uk/rpac-races/the-holly-run

Club Info

Our next newsletter editor is Jim Duffy.

He can be emailed contributions on james.duffy@live.co.uk .

The November issue is expected to be out at the beginning of December. From October,2021 onwards the newsletter will be available on the TAC website https://www.tadworthac.org.uk/

Members with Internet access can download copies of past newsletters in Adobe Acrobat format by going to our members-only website at http://news.tadworth.org.uk.

The current Committee comprises:

Role	Role Holder
Chairperson	Andrew Morrison
Treasurer	Akshay Kumar
General Secretary	Alan Imeson
Running Secretary	Ian Matthews
Communications Oficer	Jim Duffy
Membership & Recruitment Secretary	Jane Munn

Committee Role	Support Role	Support Role Holder
Running Secretary	Cross Country Captain – Ladies	Laura Palmer
Road League Captain – Ladies	Ingrid Mrazova
Cross Country Captain – Men	Dan Berry
Road League CaptainMen	Roland Hogg
Training Co-Ordinator	Hazel Imeson
Tadworth Ten	Race Director, Clerk Of The Course, Zone Managers:	Peter Cattermole, Roland Hogg, Dave Williamson,Jane Munn,Mark Lowther, Mark Todd, Phil Stevens, Steve Hill

TADWORTH AC

A road and cross-country running club for all.