THREE COUNTIES CROSS COUNTRY @ WING - 22nd November (Courtesy of Nicki Harris)

Wootton Road Runners took a strong team of 45 to the 2^nd Three Counties Cross Country at Wing, Leighton Buzzard last weekend. Glorious, sunny conditions soon turned into overcast skies and heavy rain for a true cross country race through the infamous stream. Wootton Road Runners team took 1st place overall, the Men’s team finished joint 1^st place with Ampthill and Flitwick Flyers and the Women’s team took 2^nd place behind Olney Runners. This leaves Wootton clear at the top of the leader board after 2 cross country series races.

First Wootton man was Phil Melling, finishing a strong 2^nd place. Melling was quickly followed home in 3^rd by Mike Aldridge who is just finishing off his marathon preparations for this weekend at Luton. Iain Hazell put in one of his characteristically consistent efforts to finish 6th. The Wootton scorers were completed by Craig Mattocks, 9^th, Simon Douglas, 16^th, veteran Jeff Mason, 18^th and veteran Richard Lack in 25^th. First Wootton lady was Kirsty Gallagher in a storming 2^nd place, Sam Bell ran an excellent race to finish in her highest place, 13th and the final scorer for the team was Nicki Harris finishing in 15th.

The others in the Wootton team were Chris Gallagher, Mark Fowler, Dave Parkins, John Saw, Ian Randell, Graham Hollowell, Mike Howgego, Matt Goddard, Steve Heighway, Drew Sheffield, Steve Longeran, Damian Murphy, Phil Wood, Morag Larsen, Caroline Parkins, Stuart DeFreyne, Terry Peters, Paul Flecknoe, Simon Tootell, Polly Randell, Zoe Hemsley, Jim Shaw, Ian Rogers, Annette Burgess, Bob Ward, Mike Kendall, Graham Tee, Graeme Dent, Andre Starcevic, Diane Rogers, Natalie Lloyd, Lorayne Keet-Marsh, Terri Mason, Sarah Warden and Mick Wood.

Next race in the series is in December at North Herts where Wootton hope to continue the strong, consistent team performance.

MK 10K - Kirsty maxes out as Wootton women regain the senior title (Courtesy of Mark Exley)

The 8th and final round of the East Midlands Grand Prix Series took place in Milton Keynes on Tuesday night in extremely warm and humid conditions. Wootton took a team of 34 runners to the event, with star performer again being Kirsty Gallagher, who was 2nd lady and first Vet 35 finisher, in an excellent 38.06. With five wins from 6 races completed, Kirsty stormed to the Vet 35 Women's title and led the Wootton Senior team to a well deserved series victory. It has been a great team effort to regain this title which was first won in 2007 but lost to Coventry Godiva in 2008. A combination of clashing events, work commitments and injuries, stopped Wootton from taking the Female Veteran team title, which went to Bedford Harriers, who won on a count back of the head to head results between the 2 clubs, after the teams finished on level points. Wootton's other scorers on the night were fellow vets Karen Singleton, 50.59, Diane Rogers, 51.11 and Tricia Harrison, 51.56, along with improving senior, Emma Baross, 51.44.

Wootton's women have performed particularly well this season and several runners achieved high finishing places in the East Midlands series. Zoe Hemsley showed great consistency to finish a superb 3rd in the Vet 35 category, with her sister Sam Bell, a similarly excellent 4th in the vet 40 category. There were other strong placings from Hannah Watson, 6th Vet 35 and Diane Rogers who finished 7th Vet 40. Several others have contributed to the team performance and of particular note have been Fran Malin, who scored for both teams in the 4 races she ran and Lisa Hornby, who excelled in her 2 races to also score for both teams, despite her recent foot operation.

Wootton's men were led home by Richard Lack, who continued his ultra consistent form with a 24th place finish, in 36.49. In his last season as a senior runner and despite beginning to look his age, Richard completed all 8 races to take an excellent 10th place in the series against some runners who were not born when he left school. There was a very strong performance on the night from Vet 40 Guy Glennon, who completed the course in 37.54 and took a creditable 6th in the Male Vet 40 series. Fellow veteran Richard Fowler, who also completed all 8 races, finished a race he clearly does not get on with in 39.04 and took 8th place in the Vet 40 category for the series. On the night there was an excellent performances from vet 50 Allan Harrison, who completed the course in 39.54, finishing 2nd in category in an all too rare race appearance. There were some good sub 40 minute runs from twins David and Chris Lazenby, who finished in 39.36 and 39.41 respectively. In the series the Men’s teams were well below the level of their dominant double victory from 2008. The teams have not been in a position to truly compete this season due to injuries and clashing commitments to key runners, most notably Mike Aldridge, Phil Melling and star veteran performer Steve Poole.

The Senior team, champions for the previous 2 seasons, finished in a solid 4th place, in a competition dominated by Coventry Godiva. The Veterans were 5th, with the win going to our old friends Rugby and Northampton. 2009 has seen a renaissance from the Sixfields contingent as they also beat us to the County Cross Country titles. Needless to say, what goes around, comes around and we will be back, firing on all cylinders in 2010.

Thanks from the club to all those who have made the effort to compete in the series, often in less than ideal conditions. Whether you scored for the team or gave extra purple and cerise colour to the races, your contribution is appreciated. The numbers we provide for these events are noted by all who attend and ensure that Wootton Road Runners remain firmly on the map.

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COWMAN MIDDLE DISTANCE TRIATHLON report (Courtesy of Nicki Harris)

The alarm went off at silly o’clock in the morning (4.30am!) and immediately thoughts of “why am I doing this race?” and “why do I enjoy getting up this early to put myself through some pain?” started rushing through my head – those thoughts soon disappeared as I arrived at the race and met Zoë and Paul in transition setting-up their bikes and kit.

At 6.50am there was a swim briefing and as it was a struggle to see the lake through the mist, let alone the big 10ft inflatable bollards you had to swim around, the race start was delayed by 15 minutes; another 15 minutes to contemplate “why am I doing this?” The lake was surprising warm (and a murky green!). The whistle went and we were off – I was in the final wave of the three waves. Swim went well, not too many kicks or punches received or (unintentionally) inflicted. I soon found myself out of the water and fighting with my wetsuit before starting on the bike - 56 miles of road here I come.

It was still misty, but it was just clear enough to distinguish the cars from the bushes which was good enough for me.  The bike is my least favourite discipline for two main reasons: a) it’s my slowest discipline, and b) a lot more can go wrong with the mechanics of a bike i.e. a dreaded puncture or snapped chain. The 56 miles provided plenty of opportunity to get myself down onto the tri bars and fly along at speed, and not too many hills or the need to brake - I was even pedalling down hills, Jamie! The 56 miles passed surprisingly quickly.

Girls, we all know about male pride, don’t we? Well, throughout the first laps of the course I kept having to overtaking two guys who, kept passing me (the girl in front) for a short time only for me to re-take the position a few miles down the road. By forty miles I’d had enough, broke away and left them for dust! Clearly, they couldn’t hack the pace.

Finally, after 56 miles the bike was over – what a relief. Trainers on and off I went on the third and final stage, the run, my favourite discipline, consisting of four laps of Emberton Park and surrounding fields – a nice route, but 4 laps! And on each lap you had to run pass the finish – a cruel torment! Supporters were great and cheered me along each time I ran through transition area. I felt good during the first two laps, the ‘brick’ legs from the biking soon disappeared and I entered into running mode. By now, the mist from earlier had cleared and the sun was shining with avengence and with little shade on the course I was starting to feel hot, tried, sick and just wanted to finish. Zoë caught up with me at this stage on lap [three] and we ran together for a while; with her encouragement and  a Nunn tablet drink I started to feel better. Lap four came and went and I was now on the home-ward stretch. I mumbled a few words to the support crew, and heard the reply “if you have energy to talk, you have energy to run faster” so I did a sprint finish and overtook another four runners to get a finish time of 5hrs 22 minutes and 6th overall, so very pleased considering the heat.  I do not run in heat if I can help it!

Full Ironman next year … I’m still considering, have another 5 days to decide!!

P.S I had to check the results, those two guys I passed on the bike did 5hrs 39 and 6hrs 22.

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WEYMOUTH MIDDLE DISTANCE report (Courtesy of Pete Diamond)
Click here
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HARBOROUGH 5M - Wootton girls go large AGAIN (Courtesy of Mark Exley)

Wootton took a large team of 37 runners to the Harborough 5 mile road race, run on the undulating course from the grounds of Gartree Prison, on Tuesday evening. This race was the penultimate round of the East Midlands Grand Prix series and on a warm night, it was again the Wootton ladies who performed brilliantly. The team was led home by the superlative Kirsty Gallagher, who finished 1st vet 35 and 3rd female overall, in 30.10. Kirsty wrapped up the F35 title with this run to keep up her excellenet record in this series. There was another great run from Lisa Hornby, following her seasonal debut at the previous race at Banbury, with a creditable time of 32.57. The Wootton team was completed by Zoe Thornbrough, fitting this race into her Ironman Triathlon training schedule and running an excellent 33.37. Wootton comfortably won both the Female team prizes, with the Senior Team title now in the bag, with 1 race remaining. The veteran team moved into first place but need to beat Bedford Harriers in the final race to ensure they retain the title they won last year. There were several other good runs from Wootton's ladies. Nicki Harris continued her good form with a run of 33.47, Fran Malin completed the course in 34.45 and Sam Bell again ran well, finishing in 34.54. Further down the field there were promising runs from Diane Rogers, 38.51, Emma Baross, 41.20, Anna Woodward, 41.54 and a debut 43.29 from Julie Hanna.

Wotton's men were led home by Richard Lack, celebrating his final season as a senior male, with another consistent run of 28.28. Behind Richard there were solid runs from Chris Gallagher, 29.41, Guy Glennon 29.51 and Richard Fowler, 29.54. There were also promising runs from John White, 31.49, vet 50 Brian Singleton, 33.55 and turning back the clock, super vet Terence Peters with an excellent 35.00.

The final race of the series is the traditionally hot, Milton Keynes 10k road race, in 2 weeks time.

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BANBURY 5M - Wootton girls go large in Banbury (Courtesy of Mark Exley)

It was a great night for both Wootton Road Runners female teams at the Banbury 5 mile race on Tuesday evening. The 6th round of the East Midlands Grand Prix Series took place on the popular Banbury course, with weather conditions ideal after recent warm races at Corby and Weedon.

Pride of place went to superstar veteran Kirsty Gallagher, who was first female overall, in a time of 29.42. Wootton put out a very strong team of females and fellow veteran Lisa Hornby, making her first road race appearance following a major foot operation, ran a brilliant race to finish 3rd vet 35 in 31.48. The Senior team comfortably took the win with Nicki Harris completing the scorers with a strong run of 33.53. The veteran team took an even more resounding victory, with Kirsty and Lisa joined by vet 40, Fran Malin, taking a break from her Ironman training, to record 34.12. There were several other quality runs, with Sam Bell running 34.41, finishing 4th vet 40 and her sister Zoe Hemsley continuing her fine form with a run of 37.22 and 5th vet 35. With 2 rounds left the senior ladies team now lead the series with the veteran team very close behind early leaders Bedford Harriers.

With several top runners missing, Wootton struggled in the male categories. It was left to Richard Lack to again lead home the team in 28.29, well supported by Chris Gallagher, who finished in 28.58. The Senior team was completed by veterans Richard Fowler, 29.50 and another superb run from vet 45 Tony Baross, giving it lerds with a time of 30.55. The veteran team was completed by Graham Hollowell, 31.41 and vet 50 Brian Singleton, fresh from his Edinburgh Marathon exploits, with an excellent 34.09. There was more good news from Simon Tootell, who ran strongly to record 31.54 and again John White and Graham Jessop completed their 3 legged race to finish together in an impressive 32.09.

Next stop..go to jail, directly to jail etc (aka) the Harborough 5.

CORBY, WEEDON AND EDINBURGH MARATHON (Courtesy of Mark Exley)

It has been a busy couple of weeks for Wootton Road Runners with mixed fortunes for the club. Wednesday 27th May saw the 4th race in the East Midlands Grand Prix series, held on a challenging 5 mile course at East Carlton, near Corby. Wootton took a depleted team to the race, with Richard Lack again first finisher for the club in 29.23. Richard was followed home by first Wootton veteran Richard Fowler, 30.53 and Charles Howard, 30.55. All 3 had taken part in all 4 races in the series. Final scorer for the Senior Male team was newer runner Simon Tootell, with a promising run of 32.32. The Male Vets team was led home by Richard Fowler and completed by serial racer Graham Hollowell, 32.35, and vet 50 duo Pete Diamond, 35.41 and old sparring partner Andrey Starcevic, 37.12. First Wootton female was Sam Bell who finished in a solid 35.28, just ahead of fellow veteran Zoe Thornburgh, 35.38. The Senior Female team was completed by Anna Sherwood, 37.22 and the vet team by the very consistent Zoe Hemsley, 37.32. It was another top 6 category finish for Zoe, maintaining her lead in the F35 series. There were also good runs from Sarah Woolley, 38.53, Terri Mason, 39.12 and Diane Rogers, 40.36.

Sunday 31st May saw 5 Wootton runners complete the Edinburgh Marathon, which despite a reportedly pleasant sea breeze, was run in very warm conditions. With some water stations running out of both water and energy gels, after an early morning theft (some people lack a sense of humour obviously), many runners struggled to complete the 26.1 miles. First Wootton finisher in an excellent 3.35.42 was Steve Wroblewski, with fellow vets Brian Singleton, 3.43.55 and Graham Tee, 3.59.34, completing the clubs male finishers. First Wootton lady was Karen Singleton, who despite struggling in the heat, still recorded a creditable 4.03.28. Final Wootton finisher was Jess Mistry, who mindful of the need to beat Lyn Keable's London time, completed her debut Marathon in 4.57.44.