Witham Running Club

RESULTS FROM THE ESSEX 20

Conditions at Great Bromley were near perfect for distance running on Sunday, especially when you think back to the last few weekends. It was still cold and the wind was biting at times but the sun was shining enough to keep everybody happy.

The Essex 20 always has a bit of an underground feel to it but that didn't deter 12 members of Witham from toeing the line and recording some excellent results, with 6 personal bests and 4 club records.

John Booty 2:09:22
Alan Read 2:11:58 pb
Dave Andrews 2:34:?? pb

Brigid Wallen 2:35:41 pb/Club Record

Shelley Wray 2:39:22 pb/Club Record
Alex Stuckey 2:45:33
Rachael O’Connor 2:49:10 pb/Club Record
Mick Poulter 2:53:48
Adam Hocken 2:55:47
Liz Stuckey 2:57:10
Debs Lewis 3:07:?? pb/Club Record
Penny Clarke 3:45:00

Thanks to Ian Stobirski and Dave Smith for marshalling and to Martyn Byford, Mat Pearsons, Phil Martin, Tony Wallen and official photographer Dave Enders for braving the cold to lend their support.

Effort Session - Thursday 11th

The effort session on Thursday is a pyramid in preparation for Friday's track session.

Pete.

Routes for Monday 8th March

Summary of the routes for Monday evening's run:

Shortest route - 4.9 miles:
Football club, over Spa Rd and up Highfields Rd, right onto Armond Rd, right onto Chelmer Rd, right back onto Armond, right down Guithavon Valley/Mill Lane to Tommy Tuckers, right past Bramston to the traffic lights, left down Howbridge Rd/Laurence Ave all the way to Maldon Road, right up Maldon Rd, right onto Maltings Lane, right just before the school down Howbridge Rd, left along Howbridge and back to the trafiic lights. Turn right and run all the way up the High St 'til the traffic lights by The George, turn left onto Collingwood Rd, over the railway bridge, past The Albert, and left up Chipping Hill. Left at Spa Rd roundabout, down Spa Rd and back to the football club.

Medium route (5.5 miles ish):
Same as above but go all the way down Maltings Lane to the Jack & Jenny, turn right down Hatfield route and then up the High Street.

Longer route (6.5 miles ish):
Same as basic route but turn left up Spine Rd (also known officially as Gershwin Boulevard!) and run up the the roundabout before Lynfields. Turn right down Hatfield Rd and then up the High Street.

WHAT'S ON THIS WEEK - 08 MARCH 2010

MONDAY - Witham Town Football Club 19.30

Five groups running 5 to 6 miles with the possibility of a bit extra for those in marathon training. Martyn has graduated from New to Running and will be taking Group 5.

TUESDAY - Bramston 19.30

Group run with plenty of turn backs for the faster runners.

WEDNESDAY - Eastways 19.30

Structured training with Jonny, meeting at the Industrial Estate.

THURSDAY - Bramston 19.30

Structured training with Head Coach Pete plus the option of a five mile easy run.

Friday - Braintree Track 19.30

The much postponed winter 5k WILL take place at the track in Panfield Lane. This is free to enter for all club members. Marshals also required.

SATURDAY - Morrisons 09.00

The Saturday peloton returns to Rayne Station Cafe this week to sample more of Rob & Sara's hospitality and cakes. Await weekly bulletin from DJ.

SUNDAY - Morrisons 9.00

The long Sunday run from Morrisons car park with distances ranging from 6 miles upwards.

Happy running!

Tony.

James M & the New Zealand Ironman

Well it's Saturday afternoon and I just thought I'd browse the web to see if the New Zealand Ironman results were available.

And they are!

Happy to say that James Montgomery is there in the result list - his overall time was 15:26:37 made up of a 1:32:52 swim, 7:36:05 on his bike and then a 5:46:46 marathon to finish. Can't wait to hear his version of the event. I think Theresa probably deserves some congratulations as well for being there to cheer James on for over 15 hours.

Well done James - time for a couple of weeks relaxation before getting back.

Dave E at the Bonnievale Half Marathon

After the last few months of snow, rain and cold, it's no wonder that Dave and Naomi Emerick decided to jet off to somewhere a bit warmer for a while (and South Africa sounded nice).

So Dave decided to get in a bit of racing while he was out there and successfully completed the Bonnievale Half Marathon in 25C heat. He picked up third prize in the Senior Masters category and even won some money!

Well done Dave - looking forward to hearing the stories on your return.

XC - SENIOR RESULTS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY

On Saturday 27th, three members of Witham Running Club made the journey to Leeds for the National XC Championships at Roundhay Park. This event attracts the top names in cross country running, including several international athletes.

Our representatives acquitted themselves well on the testing 12k course, with Keith Taylor finishing in 1,199th place; Terry Alabaster in 1,226th and Dave Andrews in 1,292nd.

Closer to home on Sunday was the final race in the 53-12 cross country league and saw 15 members turn out in the pouring rain at Hadleigh, Suffolk.

Jon Booty, coming back from injury, had a fantastic run to finish in 2nd place. Roy Young, Stuart Mills and Mark Bailey all finished inside the top 50 places to give Witham men top honours in Pool B.

Wendy Martin led the ladies home and Liz Stuckey took the second scoring spot, securing second place for the ladies.

Once all the points from the day were added together, Witham had again topped Pool B. This meant that Witham also won the league by 7 points and have been promoted to Pool A. Well done and thank you to all who have taken part this season.

The full Witham results are as follows:

   2 John Booty
26 Roy young
45 Stuart Mills
47 Mark Bailey
67 Tony Wallen
83 Mark Williams
  94 Ben Leeds
102 Les Leeds
107 Dave Payne

13 Wendy Martin
24 Liz Stuckey
26 Brigid Wallen
42 Tracie Bromboszcz
44 Jane Noble

Junior XC Results

Two juniors from the club made the trip to Hadleigh, to battle against the elements of heavy rain and very cold conditions, in the last XC race of the season. 14 year old Thomas Beard finished 10th overall, and 5th in the under 17 age group, and 9 year old Alex Waring finished 29 overall and 8th in the under 11 age group. Young Alex was only junior not to miss a X C race for the last two years finished an outstanding 6th overall in the 53-12 north Essex league. Well done Alex.

I would like to congratulations all the juniors from the club who took part in the 53-12 XC events, and a big thanks to the parents who made it all possible.

The next task for the juniors is to take on the adults over 5K’s on the Braintree Track on Fri 12 Mar.

Dave

Routes for Monday 1st March

Just in case anybody wants to know where we're planning to run on Monday evening, here's a summary of the routes!

Basic 5.5 miler:
Football club, right onto Spa Rd, down Spinks Lane, right at traffic lights up to Jack & Jenny, left down Maltings Lane, left onto Maldon Road, right past Tesco, right onto Freebournes (industrial estate), left at end and up over hump back bridge, right onto Avenue Rd, then Collingwood Rd, Guithavon Valley down to Tommy Tuckers (no stops for chips!), right past Bramston, right onto Spinks, right onto Spa and then left back to the football club.

Shorter route (4.75 miles ish):
Same as above but go straight across from Spinks Lane to Howbridge and Lawrence Ave.

Longer route (6.25 miles ish):
Same as basic route with 2 additions - 1. at the end of Freebournes, right then left into Eastways, all the way round Eastways to the muddy path back up to the hump back bridge and 2. at the roundabouts on Guithavon Valley, turn left up Guithavon Rd (bit of a hill!) and then right down the High St, past Bramston and home.

WHAT'S ON THIS WEEK - 1st MARCH, 2010

MONDAY - Witham Town Football Club 19.30

Five groups running 5 to 6 miles with the possibility of a bit extra for those in marathon training.

TUESDAY - Bramston 19.30

Group run with plenty of turn backs for the faster runners.

WEDNESDAY - Eastways 19.30

Structured training with Jonny, meeting at the Industrial Estate.

THURSDAY - Bramston 19.30

Structured training with Head Coach Pete plus the option of a five mile easy run.

SATURDAY - Morrisons 09.00

Cycle ride to the Blue Egg in Great Bardfield. Speciality here is the sausage rolls but the cakes are a bit special too. The route probably won't have as many hills as last week but it will be a bit longer. Aiming to get there for 11.00 so feel free to join us there for coffee & cake and/or a more gentle ride back. Full distance around 35-40 miles.

SUNDAY - Morrisons 9.00

With no XC fictures this week it will be a return to the long Sunday run from Morrisons car park with distances ranging from 6 miles upwards. Numbers may be down as it is also the Essex Championship 20 miler.

Great Bromley - 11.00

The Essex Championship 20 mile road race is an important part of the build up to the spring marathon season. WRC have 14 members taking part so why not come over and cheer them on? You can enter on the day although you will not be eligible for prizes or grand prix points.

Full details have already been posted by Brigid.

Happy running!

Tony."