STRIDER NEWS Stowmarket Striders Running Club Newsletter Summer 2015

Stowmarket Friday 5 — Our Suffolk GP Qualifier Race report: by Dale Mandell

While most people were donning

their glad rags and getting ready for

a Friday night on the town, local

runners descended on Haughley

Park in Stowmarket to take part in

the 4th and penultimate race of the

popular Friday 5 series.

Sponsored by local Stowmarket

physiotherapists; Physiofixx, the

race weaves and winds its way

around the park taking in some

beautiful trails and views.The event

was also a qualifying race for the

SCAA Grand Prix series which is a

7 race series held every year.

A pleasant evening, without it being too warm, perfect race conditions for the 352 adults and 77 junior runners taking on the

scenic 5 mile route through the park. A great turn-out for the juniors, with some of them competing in their first ever race.

Both fields, having a significant increase on last year’s numbers.

In what was a fast field of runners this year, Andrew Rooke (Aldersham Farnham & District running club) came first with a

time of 27:02. This was a 1:07 minutes improvement over last years’ time. Macauley Delo (West Suffolk AC) & Tom Fair-

brother (Woodbridge Shufflers) came 2nd & 3rd with times of 27:19 & 27:22 respectively. Again, both times under last year’s

previous best. Odette Robson (Saint Edmund Pacers) continued her great form with a 1st place finish time of 31:36. The other

two spots on the podium were taken by Sian-Marie Lucas (Haverhill Running Club) in second place with 33:56 & Ursula Ran-

som (Newmarket Joggers) with 35:21.

There were some great runs in the junior races as well. Thomas Godson took first place in the Under 9 race. Amber Bradnam

& Olivert Hart took the honours in the Under 11’s. Tilly Aldis & Ben Bayly won the under 13’s with Bailey Clements being first

across the line in the under 15’s. A fantastic turn-out by the juniors!

A special mention should also go out to the oldest runner on the day, Mike Rosbrook of Hadleigh Hares who came in a very

respectable 288th with a time of 48:27. And not forgetting our youngest participant on the day…..3yr old Jake Forder. Well

done everyone who took part. Full Race and Series Results

Next Strider Race: Our Golden Mile

Our popular Golden Mile is returning for its second year on Saturday 5th September. Have you got what it takes to

sprint it, run it, finish it, as fast as you can? This year places are limited to 250 with Junior Striders who want to take

part being given free entry.

Open to everyone who wants to take on this challenging one mile race through the streets of Stowmarket ending at the

Stowmarket Beach Party on the Recreation Ground. Entries are now open … | GOLDEN MILE INFORMATION

FRIDAY 5 SERIES

QUALIFIERS

Congratulations to all Striders who

took on the Friday 5 series

challenge and participated in one

or more races. The following

individuals completed at least four

races to qualify for a coveted

series medal:

Gemma Porch

Claire Reach

Melody-Anne Neville

Louise Goddard

Anna Smith

Angela Whiting

Elliot Burdett

Ben Hammond

Tom Naughton

Nick Hammond

Andre Neville

Darren Lee

Dean Hearn

Martin Archer

Harry Smith

Steve Pretty

Iain Hunter

At our Friday 5 race this year Sam Burdett (Senior) was the first Strider over the line and

23rd overall with a time of 32:21, followed closely by Martin Archer (MV50) 34:17, with

Elliot Burdett (U20) taking 3rd Strider home with a time of 34:37. Elliot has had a great

season and goes on to secure his 3rd overall place in the new Friday 5 Junior series

league (for 15-19 year olds) with an impressive 385 points.

Another young newcomer to the Friday 5 Junior league and taking 4th overall place in

the series is Ben Hammond. Ben was the 5th Strider home after Darren Lee (MV45) who

flew in with a time of 34:56.

Strider ladies also had some impressive finishes; Gemma Porch, 1st Strider lady with a

time of 38:20 with new Club members Melody-Ann Neville taking 2nd Strider Lady

(40:20) followed closely by Emma Attwood with a time of 40:38.

With the Friday 5 series now complete, Striders claimed some top place trophies.

Congratulations to :

Gemma Porch 3rd Womens Senior

Melody– Ann Neville 2nd FV40

Louise Goddard 3rd FV40

Elliot Burdett 3rd (U20)

Martin Archer 2nd MV50

Steve Pretty 3rd MV55

Striders Ladies Team took 3rd place, Striders Mens Team came 4th which netted Strid-

ers 3rd Place in the Overall league—A huge well done to all those runners that took part.

Striders Storm Home at Stow Friday 5

The Junior Races (start in photo above) saw a combined 77 entries including a great

turn out by our Junior Striders. Well done to everyone who took part in either the 800m

or 2.4k race.

Stowmarket Half

Marathon sets the

scene for new

County Records

We like to boast we have the most

perfect half marathon in rural Suf-

folk countryside, this year it set the

scene for not one but two new

county records.

Congratulations to Odette Robson

of Saint Edmunds Pacers who

beat her own record in the FM40

category with her new time of

1:20:54.

And to Carole Spong of Great

Yarmouth Road Runners for her

record of 1:57:29 in the FM65+

category.

Race entries reach record capacity

Race report: by Dale Mandell

On what was a perfect day for running, Sunday 23rd March saw 402 runners amass at

Tomlinson Groundcare, Buxhall for the 2015 edition of the Stowmarket Half Marathon.

The event has been growing in popularity yearly & was completely sold out some time

before the day of the race. Dry and occasional sunny spells with little wind……and the

promise of cake after the race was enough to guarantee some fantastic racing with

Odette Robson (Saint Edmund Pacers) taking the ladies prize with a blistering time of

1:20:54.

Robson was followed home by Rose Nicholson of Waveney Valley AC (1:24:35) and Ma-

rie Shirley of Colchester Harriers A (1:27:05). Jayne Williams, Isobel Renn and Dawn

Davies took the Women’s team prize for Ipswich Jaffa RC.

The men’s race was just as riveting with only 20 seconds separating 1st and 2nd Place.

Men’s winner with a time of 1:15:50 was Benjamin Turley of Ipswich JAFFA RC, quickly

followed by Grant Harradence (1:16:10) and Colin Ridley of Saint Edmund Pacers

(1:17:28). Adam Howlett, Joe Carr and Darren Sheppard put in great displays to take

home the men’s team trophy for Framlingham Flyers.

Peter Downing, an ever-present at Stowmarket Strider events, was racing as our only

wheelchair participant and he got round the course in 1:45:13

The female age category winners were Dawn Davies (FV35), Jayne Williams (F40), Ger-

aldine Clarke (F45), Haley Suttle (F50), Belinda Schofield (F55), Marion Walker (F60)

and Carole Spong (F65). The triumphant men were Adam Howlett (m40), John Manlow

(M45), Greg Davis (M50), Michael Marriot (M55), Ker Macrosson (M60) and Malcolm

Savage (M65).

Stow Half raises £2000 for MS UK!

New Club Kit

Coming Soon We are in the final stages of sourcing

a new club kit and you will soon be

able to buy your new vests. After

listening to members' views we opted

for a new style technical vest in the

old style club fluorescent yellow. We

are sure our new kit will meet your

expectations.

You will also be able to buy other

branded items, direct

from the supplier.

We’ll let you know as soon as the

new kit is available.

Strider of the Month

2015

January

Dale Mandell

February

Shellie Chettle (Jr)

March

Denise Wright

April

Haley Suttle

May

Melody-Ann Neville

June

Kate Beer

View our Strider Hall of

Fame

Lesley Beatty’s

‘Know exactly what you’re eating’ Oat Bars

(by popular request)

Ingredients 370g Porridge Oats

125g Plain flour 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

5 tablespoons dark brown soft sugar 150g butter or equivalent (softened)

175g honey 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

340g of your choice (e.g. Seeds Dried Fruit, Choc Chips, Nuts)

Method Preheat oven to 170o C/Gas Mark 3. Lightly grease (or line with baking

parchment)a baking tray of about 25 cms by 35 cms. In a large bowl com-bine the oats flour and bicarbonate of soda, then mix in the sugar, butter, honey and vanilla extract. Finally add the 340g of your own choice! Press the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting into slices. Then

allow to cool completely before removing from the tin.

THANK YOU

PHIL RAMPLEY

At the end of the Junior Summer training

season, the Juniors presented Phil

Rampley with a personalised caricature,

drawn by our talented Melody-Anne Neville,

by way of Thank you. Phil has been coach-

ing and helping the Juniors since his grand-

daughter Emily started training with them

over 8 years ago, but has decided to step

down this year. Never fear as Phil, one of

our Club’s founding members, will continue

to regularly coach at senior sessions.

“The greatest running race you have never heard of..”

Race Report by Dale Mandell

That was the title of a piece written in the Telegraph about the race held this year at Parliament Hill, London. In the article, Jolyn Att-

wool, the writer describes how it looked like a scene from a battlefield “hundreds of tents were pitched over a churned hillside, ban-

ners unfurled, bearing the colours and crests of running clubs from across the country”. And he was right, it was a pretty amazing

sight that met our eyes when the small ‘clan’ of Striders arrived on Hampstead Heath that afternoon.

We all met that Saturday morning in the football club carpark to get on board the minibus being expertly driven by team captain and

chauffeur for the day Jason. I’m going to refer to us as ‘Clan’ Striders as by the end of our races, we all looked like extra’s out of

Braveheart, covered head to toe in mud and vegetation. Clan Striders consisted of Nick Hammond, Sandra Mayhew, Louise God-

dard, Scott Williams, Laura Hicks, Ritchie Parkins, Paul Heeks, Dianne Hughes, Steve Hughes, Chris Starmer, Angela Brinkley, Ja-

son Allard and myself. We were also joined by women’s team captain, Jo Stephenson & Jason’s daughter Tegan who both provided

excellent support throughout the day.

After a couple of hours driving, chatting, tweeting and general merriment, we arrived at the carpark/local quagmire and proceeded to

walk to the race start. For anyone who hasn’t been there before, the view from the top of Parliament Hill is spectacular…..taking in

the skyline of London, including its newest addition, the Shard. What was even more amazing was the view on the heath, in the dis-

tance, at the bottom of the hill was the start line just in front of the somewhat dilapidated Lido. And directly in front of us a smorgas-

bord of various sized tents and the differing coloured flags of the participating running clubs. It really was a sight to behold.

After a brief visit to the portaloos, which was almost a ‘tough-mudder’ style trek in itself, we went and set up camp next to West Suf-

folk Athletic Club who had brought along a massive group of runners. With a couple of hours to kill before we ‘toed the line’, it was a

great opportunity to watch some of the earlier races. It was amazing to see the amount of youngsters taking part on the day……a

very good sign that running is heading in the right direction.

The senior women’s 10k race was due to start at 14:20pm so the Strider ladies headed off down the hill with 15 minutes to go. All the

clubs taking part were given a pen number to line up in at the start. And at the sound of the gun, they were off. It was quite a sight

watching 1500 women steam up Parliament Hill with mud flying everywhere….this was no training session at Haughley Park. They

were super determined & flying. They powered up the hill & disappeared around the bend. If watching the start was that epic, what

would it be like being in it?

We walked to the next flat section so that we could cheer on our teammates as

they started their 2nd lap & sure enough, it wasn’t long before the front-runners

were steaming past. The blokes knew they were going to be in for a tough time

when Dianne shouts out as she passes “This is the easy bit!” It looked like they

were running through a swamp and this was the easy bit???? Turns out Dianne

was spot on.

Unfortunately, us blokes had to head to the start line before we got to see the

ladies come through the finish which was a shame but they all did fantastically.

As I can attest to now having done it myself…just getting round was a massive

achievement.

Saucony National XC Championships

So there we were, the men’s team in starting pen one surrounded

by 2,000 other runners waiting for the gun to go off. In front of

us… Parliament Hill stretched up into the distance. The gun

sounds and we are off. I’ve never know a race start like it. As

soon as the gun had gone, I looked to my right and saw Jason &

Nick. A couple of seconds later they were swallowed by the

crowd……I never saw another Strider the whole length of the

course. This may have had something to do with the constant

stream of mud and god knows what else being kicked up into my

face by the 600 or so runners in front of me!

The 12km, 2 lap course winded in & around the Heath passing

through a few wooded sections and up a nasty little hill that was

now more akin to a muddy slip n slide. The previous 8 or 9 races

had really torn up the surface; the mud was shin deep in places &

really hard on the legs. This made it really tough going, speed wasn’t going to help here, pig-headed stubbornness was. In some

spots we were held at walking pace through sheer number of runners not being able to get through the mud. The first lap was pan-

demonium and to be honest, I couldn’t tell you much about it as i had to spend all my time looking at the ground dodging lost

shoes, other runner’s spikes and making sure of foot placements.

However, by the second lap, the field had thinned out a bit and it allowed us to take in a bit more of our surroundings. The Heath

really is a beautiful place to run, a veritable oasis in the middle of London. Undulating with wide open spaces……it was a great

place to hold the race. My admiring of the location lasted about 2 minutes though as I had to go back and find my shoe which had

come off through the suction of the mud. Brand new shiny shoes being worn for the first time (rookie mistake); there was no way I

was losing it. After a minute of digging, I had it back on my foot and was off again.

The second lap was tough……..it really did become a war of attrition just to get to the finish. It really helped that the Strider ladies,

having finished their race, cheered us on. A special mention to Helen Cain & family also there on the day giving us support. Not

that we could look up and acknowledge anyone, we were too busy hurdling fallen runners. I’ve never known a race like it for run-

ners falling like domino’s. Even with 15mm spikes on, they were hitting the ground left, right & centre.

I had no idea whereabouts in the field I was, or even where the other Striders were. There were so many other competitors, it was

hard to single anyone out. Plus you’d be surprised how many other clubs sport yellow vests. I found the wooded section of the

course very pleasant, and it offered up more of a solid surface to run on,

……except for what I now lovingly refer to as the ‘sheep dip’ before the hill

(the others will know what I’m talking about). If by some miracle you had

managed to keep mud-free till this point…not anymore.

After the hill it’s not long before you hit the long descent back down to the

finish line. Even the downhill was tricky with all the loose mud about. One

runner in front of me went over taking out two others. Dodging/hurdling

them, it was just a quick sprint round a bend and then the push to the fin-

ish where Jo and Tegan were waiting. Race done. To say that this race

had taken it out of me would be an understatement. Strange though….as

knackered as I was, I still had a big smile on my face. As did the other

guys as they came across the line.

The next few hours were interesting. Compared to cleaning the mud off ourselves and getting warm clothes on…the race was a

piece of cake. I would like to apologise to Jason now for the pile of mud that had probably accumulated around my seat on the min-

ibus.

I came 700th out of 2,005 runners with a time of 51:37, and while I’m happy to have come in the top 1000, I really don’t care about

the time. Anyone who knows how competitive I am may find that strange to hear but it’s true. I had an amazing day at the Nation-

als. Just to have taken part in such a large & prestigious race was something I won’t forget for a long time. To have shared such a

fun day with other Striders was brilliant and we had barely been on the minibus 2 minutes for the trek home before we were talking

about doing it next year at Donnington.

Even if you are not a big cross country fan, you really should give the Nationals a go and I’m sure that if you asked anyone else

who was there that Saturday….they would say the same thing. And thank you to my teammates who made the event the great day

that it was. See you all at Donnington next year?

Bravo! To our

National Cross

Country Teams Womens Results: 8k—Field size 865

Position Athlete Time

495 Laura Hicks 44:46

515 Louise Goddard 45:09

587 Dianne Hughes 47:09

679 Sandra Mayhew 50:16

739 Angela Brinkley 52:43

Mens Results: 12k—Field size 2007

Position Athlete Time

700 Dale Mandell 51:37

772 Nick Hammond 52:17

921 Scott Williams 53:51

942 Jason Allard 54:04

1114 Steve Hughes 56:00

1181 Chris Starmer 56:50

1209 Richie Parkins 57:08

1926 Paul Heeks 1:14:40

Womens Team

Placed 79/93

———————

Mens Team

Placed 91/145

Ekiden Relay This July, saw 11 Strider teams take part in the Ekiden Relay—a race that has

become a local favourite and is the only race of its type held in the UK. For over

20yrs this event has been hosted by Ipswich Jaffa and has become an established

fixture on the Stowmarket Striders racing calendar.

For those of you who don’t know, the Ekiden is a race which originated in Japan.

Teams of runners compete in a relay over incredibly long distances. Running on a

whole is one of the most popular sports in Japan with TV audiences regularly

topping 1-3 million for their various televised races.

While the Jaffa Ekiden doesn’t attract quite the international field that the Japanese

ones do, runners still come from all over East Anglia to take part. Held at

Woodbridge School, it’s a great family event with barbeque & drinks available. The

course is approx. 2.5k long and very flat loops.

This year had a record entry of over 170 teams taking part. 26.2 miles in length,

the race is split into 6 legs; 1 x 7.2km, 3 x 5km and 2 x 10km. A junior version of

the race is also held for under 16’s & consists of 4 x 1.5 mile laps.

Our fastest team came 3rd in their category and consisted of Tamara Jordan,

Rebbecca Jordan, Nick Hammond, Samuel Burdett, Chris Starmer and Chris Mor-

ton. Our Men's V40-49 team came 7th. The other mixed teams all did really well

too, with finish positions of 18th, 19th, 20th, 26th, 28th, 31st, 32nd, 36th and 40th.

The fastest of the mixed Striders team won the “Captains Award” and the team

consisted of Sophie Newman, Malcolm Hogarth, Peter Reach, Joe Naughton,

Anna Smith and Sam Metcalfe. “We’d like to say a big thank you and huge

congratulations to all those that took part. Everyone turned up in plenty of time and

the team camaraderie was fantastic.” Jo & Jason, Team Captains.

Click here to read more

about the Ekiden Relay

Report by Mike Munson—The Essex & Herts LDWA are celebrating their 40th Anniversary by having a "Quadruple & Triple Chal-

lenge". The Quadruple is to complete the Long event at their 4 events this year and the Triple is for the 3 Marathon distance

events being completed. A special Certificate will be presented as will a commemorative Mug at the Blackwater Marathon.

The events are: 28th June : Herts Hobble 27m; 26th September: Shotley Peninsula Challenge 53m; 24th October: Blackwater

Marathon 26m; 27th December: Stansted Stagger 24m

Most events have a shorter distance and full refreshments are provided including a meal at the finish. The events are for both

walkers and runners, with instructions like our Wednesday trail runs they can be used for marathon training, or just a lovely day out.

Details can be found on the LDWA website. www.ldwa.org.uk

Norfolk & Suffolk organise several challenge events. There is one more this year, the Flower of Suffolk, from Walberswick on 4th

October. It goes through Minsmere, the scenery is great and it's well worth taking part

Striders in Tough Team

Challenge 2015

Race Report by Steve McNamara

Dan Selfe and I flew the Striders flag for the 2nd time up in Cheshire

during June as we tackled the 9 mile route around the Peckforton

hills including the infamous ‘railway’.

With no practice hills in Suffolk to speak of we were a bit

‘undercooked’ but running in the three man team with a mate from

my old club, we managed a decent pace into the scenic setting and

when the disused funicular railway appeared at 4.5 miles we gave it

our best. The 150m incredibly steep ascent was met with the tradi-

tional hand of the ‘Grim Reaper’ at the summit who welcomed us to

hell – charming! All downhill from there though (figuratively and liter-

ally) and we had a strong finish to finish 4th male vets team overall.

There were numerous comments of “Stowmarket – bloody hell!” as

we surprised the locals with our far flung exploits. Next stop 2016 in

the same terrain could be the 30m Sandstone Trail race – anyone up

for joining us?!

Course profile

On Tuesdays and Thursdays there’s a mass of yellow vests

Waiting in anticipation of the coaches’ latest test

It could be hills or inclines, pyramids or sprints

But tonight we’re doing Fartleks, with a Swedish hint

First we do a warm-up, then get into groups

Each taking numbers, before we start the loops

Running starts off slowly, then the sprints begin

Each number takes the lead, it’s ‘Who dares wins’

The session’s nearly over, the endorphin rush feels great

I’m proud to have the Striders as my running mates

There’s only one thing about running I would like to say

It brings a smile to my face each and every day

Martin Little, aged 46 and a third

Go with the Stow

Poetry Competition Winner

Upcoming races

SCAA Suffolk

Grand Prix

Qualifiers

Fram 10k—6th Sept

Ipswich Half—20th Sept

Thurlow 5&10—18th Oct

Waveney TT—13th Dec

Read More…..

SCAA Suffolk

County Champs

Felixstowe 10—27th Sept

Read More…..

Club Champs &

Time trials

Race 5—25th August

Race 6—15th Sept

Read More…..

Round Norfolk

Relay

19th & 20th Sept

Read More…..

Summer Trail

Runs

Wednesday nights

Read More…..

Full Race Diary

Read More…..

Race Results

Read More…..

Our Vision: Striding into the future

As a rapidly growing, and we think, innovative club, with over 300 members what and where

can our dreams take us? As runners we constantly strive to better ourselves and our

performances to exceed our goals. That might mean being able to run for

five consecutive minutes as a new runner or coming 6th overall in our age

category at the London Marathon. Both are incredible achievements and whatever our

running goals, all of us can benefit from the framework that, as a collective, Stowmarket

Striders gives us.

But what if we had our own facilities? A fully lit running track for all weather running, where

runners of every age and every level could push themselves and explore their potential, guided

by Coaches in structured training sessions . A place where juniors, the runners of the fu-

ture, can train and develop in a safe environment. A club house for social meetings, guest

speakers and demonstrations, personal/group workout training sessions.

As part of the Club's on-going development, the Committee are currently exploring the

possibility and potential of realising that dream. We may have to start small, a field with

portable lighting perhaps. We will still utilise Stowmarket and surrounding countryside for some

of the sessions and trail runs, that won't change. We also know there will be a myriad of

hurdles and challenges that we may have to face along the way, and that's why we need your

help! Your expertise. With 300+ members we can benefit from your skills, your professions,

your knowledge, your network within the community. Everyone has the potential to help in

some way and we'd like to hear from you.

A sub-committee has been formed and tasked to explore and report back on the options

available to us as a Club. Small steps but lets guide our Club into the ever developing future. If

you have any ideas and suggestions, concerns and challenges (they will all need to be

reviewed and addressed) or offer skills or support in this endeavour, please speak to our Chair-

man, Paul Heeks—we’d love to hear from you.

My VMLM Experience Report by Steve Pretty

I started running seriously 4 years ago. I wasn't as fit as I used to be and, somewhat inspired

by the up coming Olympic Games, decided to give running a try. Early in 2012, I took part in

my first 10k events (Sport Relief and Alton Water) and shortly after joined Striders. As my

running continued to improve, I took on longer distance races, completing my first Marathon

(Bungay) in 2013. The following year, I ran Brighton - that went really well, finishing in

3:20:59.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere at Brighton and it encouraged me to think about entering my

first major - the London Marathon. I applied for the ballot, but was not lucky. Fortunately,

there was a second chance - the possibility of a club place. So there I was at the Christmas

party, all hopeful - and yes! mine was the last name out of the hat. Time to get down to train-

ing!

I decided to use the same training plan as I did for Brighton. It is based on a Burt Yasso

plan, but modified to my own tastes. I like to keep it simple - 4 runs a week (speed work with

Striders on Tuesdays, a couple more runs during the week and the long run on Sunday), and

maybe a bit of cross training. I keep the total weekly distance and long run distance the

same as the plan. I like to think of the Marathon as a 16 week event. I used races as three of

my long runs (The Folksworth 15, which gave me a club silver standard and club age group

record, Tarpley 20 and the Essex 20, which was a PB and also a club age group record).

During this period, I lead a Jantastic team for Bury St Edmunds parkrun, just to give a little

bit of extra motivation and accountability!

Two weeks before the great day, I ran the Haverhill 10k and then started to taper.

I'd decided to make it a long weekend break and arrived in London by coach - which was interesting as it followed the marathon route

through docklands and the embankment. I really enjoyed the expo - probably the biggest dedicated running exhibition I'll ever visit. On

Saturday, I visited Highbury Fields parkrun for a final 5k. And then the big day:

I made an early start - the rail travel arrangements to the start are really efficient, and I was

there much quicker than I expected.

Unfortunately is was cold and raining. I'd taken a bin liner, but it wasn't enough. Lesson 1 -

take some warm throw away clothing! Can't remember the last time I shivered so much and

for so long. Finally the start came. It is all fairly congested for the first three miles - bit like

running through treacle. After that things start opening out. I met Steve Hughes and we ran

for a while until we caught up with the 3:15 pacer. Now, it had been my plan to run with the

pacer, as I had a Brighton. I don't know what came over me though - I was feeling good and

perhaps overwhelmed by the crowds and sense of occasion - but I passed the pacer and

pressed on. Felt really good at 12 miles crossing Tower Bridge (was really looking forward to

that) and at the half marathon point - but after that I went into a bit of a decline and by mile

18 I was shot - that early pace had killed me. Lesson 2 - stick to your plan!

I fell into survival mode - run to the next mile marker, short recovery walk then run on. It

worked - I was feeling quite good by the time I reached Big Ben and really enjoyed the run in

to the finish past Buckingham Palace. I finished in a respectable 3:24:29.

Looking back, I really enjoyed my London experience - in what other sport can you complete

with some 38,000 fellow athletes and in the same race as the world's finest? All this through

the streets on one of the worlds great cities, cheered on by crowds throughout the entire 26.2

miles - I'm extremely grateful to Stowmarket Striders for the opportunity to take part. I used

the event to raise money to help Bury St Edmunds parkrun buy a defibrillator for Nowton

Park. This is now installed and operational.

Will I run the VMLM again? Probably not. My thinking is that there are only so many long

distance runs to be had from my old legs, and I want to make every one a different one. I've

already booked Stort 30 for this Autumn and Manchester for 2016.

RUNNERS PROFILES

Louise Goddard

“Lots of people inspire me quite

a few being Striders with their

amazing achievements ”

- Louise Goddard

Q: Name? A: Louise Goddard (Lou)

Q: Age? A: 41

Q: What do you do for a living? A: Accountant (boring grown-up desk job)

Q: When did you start running with Stow Striders? A: February 2014

Q: What’s your favourite club race? A: That’s easy Cross Country (but love to marshal at the ½ and scenic 7)

Q: Favourite Race Distance? A: Have not found that yet......

Q: How many times a week do you run? A: 4 to 5 times a week

Q: What other training do you do? A: Mountain Biking

Q: How do you cope if you can’t run? A; If I can’t run I MTB if I can’t MTB I swim if I can’t swim well I try not to think about that....... Q: Best Running moment? A: Man vs Mountain in 2014, Rat Race Dirty Weekend & Stour Valley Marathon in 2015 Q: Favourite pre-race meal?

A: Porridge

Meet your fellow Strider

Q: What’s your running goal for the next 12 months? A: Snowdonia Trail Marathon, Round Norfolk Relay, Bear Grills 30km Ultimate Survivor Race, Cross Country and Off Road Duathlons for the winter Q: What’s your favourite book? A: The Railway Man by Eric Lomax

Q: What’s your favourite film?

A: Not really got one.....but I’m not good with scary films

Q: If you run with music, what’s your favourite track? A: I don’t like running to music

Q: If you could be a super-hero who would you be? A; According to Julia “GI Jane” but I really don’t know Q: Who or what inspires you? Why? A: Lots of people inspire me quite a few being Striders

with their amazing achievements Q: What does being part of Striders mean to you? A: It’s just fantastic to part of such a great club; I would not have achieved half of what I have in the past year without the help, support and encouragement of my fellow Striders.

RUNNERS PROFILES

‘Spiderman every time’

Matt Tomkins

Q: Name? A: Matt Tomkins

Q: Age? A: 37

Q: What do you do for a living? A: Account Manager for Little Greene Paint Co.

Q: When did you start running with Stow Striders? A: 2010 – had a mini break due to knee op!

Q: What’s your favourite club race? A: Hmmm I think I’d say scenic seven, lovely views

Q: Favourite Race Distance? A: At the moment 10 Miles is my favourite, however I am just about to start training for my first Marathon, and who knows, it maybe that! .

Q: How many times a week do you run? A: 4-5

Q: What other training do you do? A: I try and get out on the road bike when I can, failing that time on the turbo, some T25, and a strength training on the TRX.

Q: How do you cope if you can’t run? A: Sam tells me I’m miserable and the worst person to live with!

Q: Best running moment? A: At present, getting my half marathon PB at Silverstone

last year 1hr 39min

Meet your fellow Strider

Q: Favourite pre-race meal? A: More pre-race breakfast really, Porridge & a nice strong espresso.

Q: What’s your favourite book? A: Most of my reading at the moment is to my 5 ½ year old daughter, but I do like John Grisham/Dan Brown/Sam Bourne

Q: What’s your favourite film? A: Great Escape & Italian Job, classics are always the best.

Q: If you run with music what’s your favourite running track? I don’t run with music anymore, as you generally cant during a race, but one song used to help me if I was struggling dur-ing training, theme to Rocky! Q: If you could give a new runner one piece of advice, what would that be? A: Build up mileage/speed slowly to avoid injury. Join

Stowmarket Striders.

Q: If you could be a super-hero who would you be? A: Spiderman every time.

Q: Who or what inspires you? Why? A: My kids, seeing them grow and achieve new things everyday – helps me when I am finding it hard during a race.

Q: What does being part of Stowmarket Striders mean to you? A: I enjoy the club atmosphere & the support you get, how friendly the group is, and how good the coaches are, not from being around these parts, I have made a good few friends through the club.

Matt Tomkins

Report by Chris Seymour

No 37 was not a number that I have ever given much thought to, until the early hours of Sunday morning as completing the South

Downs way 100 was my 37th official marathon/ultra and my 10th this year.

A number that I had given a lot of thought to was (sub) 24hrs as this was my plan to complete the distance in one day and receive the

coveted ‘100 miles in one day’ Buckle.

I had originally planned to undertake my first 100 last year, but with picking up an injury towards the end of 2013 I knew that it would be

a challenge to return to training and then putting pressure on myself to be prepared fully. I decided instead to run the Stour Valley Ultra

100k for the second year as well as other marathons and ultras.

I had chosen the Centurion running SDW100 as I had competed in the SDW50 in 2013 which takes in the eastern end of the 100 mile

route. I had heard previously many great reports of the Centurion events and was not disappointed. One of the mandatory kit items was

to have a map of the route for the 50 so why not put this to use again for the 100.

Prior to the event I took any opportunity to speak to anyone I knew who had completed the distance as well as reading many race re-

ports/blogs online for some top tips. For those that know me, you will know that I have no set training plan for any distance that I run,

from 5k up until 100 miles. I do however understand that to run long distances it is important to be comfortable running for lengthy peri-

ods of time often on your own. Trail running can be a solitary sport.

However race day was now upon us the start at Chilcomb sports ground is a few miles from Winchester. James Elson’s (race director)

briefing at 5.45am was greeted with silence to reflect the importance of what we were about to embark on. (How often have you been at

an event when the organisers are doing their best to shout above the noise of runners talking?)

My race strategy was not to go off to quick but also to keep within the middle pack of runners. I

also considered the worst case scenario would be to get to a certain point and if I could no long-

er run at least I can walk the rest. There would be no DNF. There is a generous cut off with 30

hours overall to complete, there are also additional cut offs at each of the 15 checkpoints I didn’t

give these any thought as I felt that as long as I can keep running I would be fine. The first 35

miles went by to plan it was a novelty from past events to have groups of runners together which

reduced dramatically towards the later stages. The first half of the course was physically easier

than the second. As the elevation profile shows, the first half rolls more gently, typically dropping

and rising 50-70m at a time; the second half is a savage roller coaster, dropping and rising

around 200m at a time. But despite the nastier hills being at the end, I think the race went in the

right direction as there was a lovely tailwind from the West for most of the day and mostly over-

cast which was perfect running conditions. I had from previous events been guilty of not drinking

and eating enough with a mandatory capacity to carry 1 litre of fluid at all times I felt this would

be sufficient between aid stations. I had also invested in

‘Succeed! S! Caps’ to supplement electrolyte losses, I remem-

bered to take these at least one every half an hour.

As the day progressed a jump suited Elvis directed us to the checkpoint at ‘Washington’ mile 54. This

was the point where if you had a drop bag, which I did, you could change your socks, top etc. There

was also the opportunity to sit down and have some hot food and drinks. Still feeling good and know-

ing that I was over half way in 10 hours.

The next couple of checkpoints came and went. The second half is probably the most scenic with

great views on a clear day and plenty of hills to recover and eat after the checkpoints. I seem to re-

member a brief ‘wobble’ where I was feeling sick and woozy around 70 miles, however there were still

runners around whom I had been with for many hours as well as regular checkpoints. Eating was now

becoming difficult but I knew that I had to try as I still had some way to go. Chocolate, sweets and

fruit became my preferred diet and ensuring that I continued to drink plenty my ‘dodgy stomach’

seemed to cope with this ok.

South Downs Way (SDW)100: 13 /14 June 2015

I think it was after the checkpoint at ‘Southease’ mile 83 where I ran the quickest stages, if not it felt quick as I was passing runners, this

was also the stages with the poorest visibility and staying on the right track on the ridge was a challenge especially as veering of the

path could be very costly. I was very grateful for the red and white tape which would appear periodically along with arrows sprayed on

the ground.

Finally arriving at Jevington the last checkpoint before the finish, I was determined not to repeat what I had done on the SDW50 where I

had continued for approx. ½ mile before realising my mistake. After the long climb to the top and to the trig point I was greeted by a vol-

unteer emerging from a tent who showed me the bright lights of Eastbourne and the running track which was clearly visible only 2 ½

miles away and more importantly the route to follow.

I was now visualising the finish and thinking about the 400 metres

finish around the track. The route down to the road is rough in parts

however coming down unscathed I caught up with another runner

with whom we decided to run in together for the last couple of

miles. We passed another runner en-route who had passed me

with his pacer a couple of miles back, wished him well and pushed

on around the back of Eastbourne General Hospital this led to the

sport centre and ultimately the end. Approaching the running track

I set off in the inside lane and ran like it was a track session and

overtaking 2 runners.

I finished in 41st place in 21hrs 10 mins 58 seconds. There were

266 starters of whom 109 came in under 24hrs with 204 finishers

overall.

After being presented with my buckle, photos

taken I was then asked “how do you feel?” my

response ….“ F**king brilliant”.

The volunteers then took over making sure that

we had everything we needed, watching us

whilst we were seated and checking regularly if

we needed anything.

Reflecting on the whole event my race strategy

appeared to work, pacing went ok, kit was ok,

hydration was good although I do need to try

and eat more earlier when I feel like it. If you are

considering any 50 or 100 mile event Centurion

events are incredible.. If you want to know more

please ask me just be prepared as I may go on a

bit and want to show you my buckle...

STRIDER NEWS

FRITTON LAKE

INDIVIDUAL

RESULTS

Sprint Triathlon

Ron Ames —1:12:22

Haley Suttle —1:14:01

Claire Baile —1:24:52

Stevie Harrison —1:32:55

Super Sprint Triathlon

Haley Suttle —00: 45:10

Olympic Triathlon

Steve Hughes —2:25:56

Haley Suttle —2:31:21

Fritton Lake Triathlon

Haley’s Triple Win

If you thought one triathlon was a pretty tough

challenge then consider three, then consider

completing them within a 27 hour period! That’s

just what Haley Suttle did and what’s more she won

her age category in every single race!

Congratulations Haley!

Fritton Lake Triathlon Festival was held over the

weekend 20th & 21st June and attracted a large

number of competitors taking part in either the

Sprint Triathlon (750m swim/18km cycle/ 5km run),

Super Sprint Triathlon (400m swim/12km

cycle /2.5km run) or Olympic Triathlon (1500m

swim/36km cycle/10km run).

Also competing over the weekend were four other

Striders with Ron Ames also taking first place in his

age group for the Sprint Triathlon.

Stowmarket Striders Triathlete News—Summer 2015

Congratulations to our

triathletes at Culford Triathlon

Well done to Mark Hayward, Helen Wing,

Kerr Macrossen and Les Basham who

won their respective age groups:

Provisional results:

Mark Hayward 56:30, James Hayward

58:55, Helen Wing 1:02:14, Adam Fish

1:02:44, Kerr Macrossen 1:03:11,

Rebecca Jordan 1:04:46, Darren Lee

1:04:57, Steve Gray 1:06:36, Les Basham

1:07:37,

IRON MAN / WOMAN

Huge congratulations to Vicky

Moseley & Rob Kett for

completing the Cotswold Ironman

distance triathlon and to Scott

Williams on comple

ting the Ironman UK.

Vicky is the first female Strider to

have completed the full Ironman.

Rob completed in 10:32 hours and

Vicky in 12:29.

Scott’s finish time was 12:55

IRON MAN = 2.4 MILE SWIM + 112 MILE CYCLE

+ A MARATHON (26.2 MILE RUN)

Raced in that order and without a break

It is widely considered one of the most difficult one-day sporting events in the world!

Little Beaver Standard Distance Triathlon – Chicago 2015 qualifier - 17th May

Race Report by Grayhame Fish (1.5km Swim – 43.8Km cycle – 10Km Run)

This race is the first of 3 qualifiers for the World Age Group Championships in Chicago this coming September. This was the first competitive Standard Distance race, that Anne and I have done for 5 years or more, both being in the ‘M’ age group we have tended to focus on the Sprint Distance but we thought we would give it a go since the Sprint is get-ting so popular.

It doesn’t seem to matter how many triathlons you do, you can still forget import things like a number belt ! Fortunately someone camping next to us had a spare belt, so I didn’t need the suitcase strap I found in my toolkit ! The weather forecast was windy, it wasn’t wrong and tents and flags were flapping furiously in the breeze as we entered the wa-ter. The deep water (well not that deep) start and off we went yet another washing machine swim which I had hoped would thin out after the first turn, or two. It didn’t turn out that way for me, some guy with the official wave, green hat on the top part of his head (like a scull cap), and a very obvious blue hat underneath it kept me on me busy all the way. Now he swam slightly quicker than me, but given that he chose to swim a zig-zag course it meant that we met up about a dozen times during the swim – never mind. The lake is not very deep in places and my long arms were soon sifting the mud and feeling fresh water mussels among other things on the bottom. Interestingly the third buoy was hidden behind a bend in the side of the lake for a while but unless your leading, not really an issue. Anne told me later that while she was waiting to start one of the buoys became detached and the wind blew it down the course – quickly retrieved by a canoeist.

After two attempts to get out of the water, the helper let go of me the first time, I took my wetsuit off and then had 450 metres to run across the grass and up a slope to transition. Because it was the Standard distance and the cold wind, we both chose to put on additional cycling tops and off we went. After approx 2 Km a left turn took to straight into the 14 knot wind for the next 7 Km. This is an interesting course with two main climbs, a wicked downhill, loose chippings (not on the downhill !!), some rough tarmac, potholes a shortage of marshals (I thought) particularly at a junction turn-ing right, but all negotiated without problems – twice, to make the 43.8 Km.

The run is an out and back twice with a hill to climb outbound that proved quite testing, especially the second

time. You cross a bridge that forms one end of the swim, a friendly fly fisherman introduced an additional hazard due

to the high winds – fishing line, the lady in front of me needed to be untangled by a bemused onlooker. I was aware of

a competitor who looked my age group closing me down but

managed to find something to hold him off and take third place,

by 14 seconds. Anne came first in her age group and waited

absolutely ages for the final results to be sorted, so when she got

her trophy most people had left !

We have both qualified for Chicago in the Standard Distance

and I believe we have now qualified in the Sprint distance as well

from the Nottingham Tri on 30th May (needs confirming) – we

would then need to make a decision since you cannot do both.

Striders Swim Gala By Ron Ames

The first Striders gala of 2015 showed what six months of swim

training over the winter period can do. Based on times from last

September's Triathlon and those I have from previous galas some

astounding PBs were achieved.

As I always explain in my pre-swim briefing, the galas are not about

winners and losers, but are an opportunity to getting used to swim-

ming in gala/tri conditions, learning to pace oneself and practice

turns and to give a reasonably accurate swim time for entry to pool

based triathlons. Hopefully we are achieving this and at the same

time are gaining more confidence for the swim part of the triath-

lons

Swim Times March 2015 Gala

Scott Williams 6.03 PB 60secs James Heywood 5.28 PB 39secs Nick Hammond 4.46 PB 36secs Helen Moore 5.56 PB 27secs Frank Moggan 8.07 PB 23secs Gareth Southgate 5.09 PB 22secs Clare Baile 6.15 PB 22secs Becky Jordan 5.34 PB 20secs Steve Hughes 6.41 PB 19secs Carl Smith 6.49 PB 19secs Ker Macrossen 6.14 PB 16secs Wayne Gardner 5.20 PB 10secs Tony Fitch 5.04 PB 8 secs Becky Ridge 4.39 PB 6 secs Sandra Mayhew 7.27 Les Basham 7.08 Jenni Deveney 6.57 Jan Starmer 6.09 Wendy Hughes 6.26 Gary Halestrap 6.05 Matt Everleigh 5.34 Shaun Jones 5.19 Tom Ames 4.05 Marcos Lemos 3.47

The next Swim Gala is likely to be sometime in September, please

watch your club email announcements for more details if you’d like

to have a go. Open to everyone.

Striders Conquer Owler Half

Ironman —

Congratulations to Haley Suttle and Mick

Jones who recently completed in the Owler

Half Ironman with brilliant performances to

achieve an amazing 4th female and 10th

overall respectively.

Battling a very tough course in strong winds

and rain, Mick completed in a time of

5:01:29 and Haley 5:44:09. Haley also

won her age category and Mick came third

in his age category!

Congratulations to our Norwich

Triathlon Competitors —

Standard distance: Philip Beer 2:40:10, Kate

Beer 3:05:42 and Jen Devaney 3:16:33.

Wayne Gardner did the Sprint in 1:18:16.

Striders European

Championships Well done to three Striders who recently trav-

elled to Geneva to represent the UK in the

ETU European Championships Age Group

Sprint Distance triathlons: Ron Ames, Anne &

Grayhame Fish. The competition was fierce

as the very best age group qualifiers gathered

from around Europe. Anne came 5th in her

age category, Ron 10th and Grayhame 19th.

Well done to you all for proudly representing

the UK.