Epsom Oddballs Running Club Newsletter
www.epsomoddballs.org March 2011
Chairman’s Report
Or Martin’s mutterings
I must start this report with the Perch. As you all know it took place this year in Nonsuch Park. My first thoughts are to say thank you to everybody who helped on the day; once again we had excellent feedback on the enthusiasm of our marshals, etc. I do need to say a special thank you to Graeme for sorting out and then marking the course, and Sue for doing the same with the marshals. I’m not going to mention any other individuals as it does all come down to a team effort. The feedback we have received about the new course has been positive, with lots of runners saying they didn’t know Nonsuch Park could be made so hard and interesting. In fact, one runner approached me and said, “I have been running here for 20 years and you found bits I didn’t know existed.” I know it’s not the same as the Downs but overall I think we did a good job, as does the reporter from Runners World who took part and has given us a whole page in this month’s magazine. We do have some t-shirts left so please contact Steve Howson to get yours. Tuesday night training is always a good way.
We have now finished our Cross Country season, which ended up with our Ladies in 15th place, after finishing 9th in the last event and our Men finishing 6th; unfortunately the Men were unable to close a team in the last two events, which is sad when you think we have over 100 male members.
Let’s now look forward to the summer road-running season and of course, for a lot of you, marathons, especially London and/or Brighton. As a club we compete in the Surrey Road League series of events so check the website and elsewhere in this newsletter for the dates. Don’t forget the rescheduled Horton Park 10K, which is our club 10K championship. I’m sure David Denton will allow you to enter if you haven’t already done so. Also remember that this year, for the first time, the club marathon and half marathon championships will be decided from your best times during the year, so please let Rob Donkin know so that they can be recorded and also shown in the newsletter.
We have again been asked by National Counties Building Society to organise their 10K. This year we have reverted back to the original date, which will be Sunday 12th June. Please put this date in your diaries so that you are available to help. It does raise money for our club, which helps to keep your fees down and also for charity. The AGM will take place on the following Monday, 13th June; the location is yet to be finalised.
Whilst on the subject of needing volunteers, don’t forget that we do need people to help marshal at the Cranleigh 21M on 20th March. This event is organised by the MABAC committee and it is a condition of membership that all clubs provide marshals at the two open events. Last year, 51 of you did at least one event so getting enough of you to give something back shouldn’t be difficult. Please contact Graeme if you can help. On the subject of MABAC events, you will get a t-shirt if you do at least 6 events in one year.
You will also find elsewhere in this newsletter, details of when our training locations change. In addition, Dave Wylie is organising two Hash runs, the first of which will take place on 2nd June and the second later in July. Finally let me welcome two new members, George Coutsoudis & Caroline Mollison, both of whom are regulars on Tuesdays and George has already turned out for the club at a Cross Country and the Brighton Half, in his words, proudly wearing the club colours.
Yours in running,
Martin Day
Spring/Summer Training Run Venues - Rob Donkin
With the nights now definitely getting lighter we shall soon be able to switch to our summer venues. With effect from Tuesday, 12th April, coaching night reverts to Horton Country Park* while Thursday training on the Downs will start from the Tea Hut at Tattenham Corner. Meeting times on both nights will be 7.15pm.
*Please note that in order to avoid any risk of being locked in at Horton Park members attending the Tuesday sessions should continue to park their cars at West Park Road for a further two weeks after 12th April.
Bob Neville Award - Rob Donkin
Congratulations to Graeme Brown, who won the 2010 competition, closely followed by Dave Wylie and Jim Boyling in second and third place respectively. Final scores for those taking part in at least 5 qualifying events during the year are shown below.
Final points table 2010
Graeme Brown / 15 / Rob Donkin / 9 / Lauren Bennett / 5Dave Wylie / 14 / Ceara Joyce / 8 / Ken Gibson / 5
Jim Boyling / 13 / Heather Fenton / 8 / Richard Brooker / 5
John Brooker / 12 / Jane Pemberton / 8 / Justine Dade / 5
Peter Drummond / 11 / Paul Eastabrook / 6 / Martin Day / 5
Kasumi Brooker / 10 / Steve Howson / 6 / Barnaby Hopson / 5
Sue Day / 9 / Gareth Pemberton / 6
Phil Fenton / 9 / Liz Neville / 6
The competition is based purely on the number of events participated in by individual members, i.e. you earn one point for each event you take part in and the qualifying events for this year’s BN Award will be:-
a) The normal 10 MABAC Sunday morning races, plus the MABAC Pairs relay event normally held in August. As before, the open events organised by MABAC, namely, the Cranleigh 15/21 and the Surrey Slog, will not be included in the competition.
b) The 4 annual Surrey Cross Country league fixtures held during the winter months. As mentioned in the last newsletter, the Mens Cross Country held on 11th December 2010 was carried over to this year’s competition because the equivalent Ladies event was not being held until January.
c) The Horton Park and Nonsuch Park Relays held in June and July.
d) The 7 Surrey Road League races held during the summer. These are currently the Sutton 10k, Richmond Half Marathon, Dorking 10m, Richmond 10k, Elmore 7m, Elmbridge 10k and Wimbledon 5k (for further information on the Road League see my article later in the newsletter).
A Couple of Reminders - Rob Donkin
· Newsletter Articles All being well, the next newsletter will go out in mid-May. As ever, all contributions are gratefully received, however vaguely related to running they may be! As well as all the news from my “regulars”, I’ve had some interesting articles from new contributors over the last 12 months. I look forward to this trend continuing because at the end of the day the newsletter is only as good as the variety of its content. Don’t be too bothered about your story-telling skills; after all it’s my job to do the edit
· Race Results I can pick up from the internet Oddballs’ results for most of the MABAC and local races that we normally take part in. However, if you run any “odd” ones that I’d be unlikely to know about please let me know. If you think that other members might be interested in hearing about the event then you could also send me a write up (no matter how brief) for inclusion in the newsletter.
Runners World – Perch Feedback
Overall score / 89%How many would do it again? / 93%
Scenery / 80%
PB potential / 57%
Atmosphere / 74%
Organisation / 89%
Value / 80%
Beginner-friendliness / 69%
MABAC News - Graeme Brown
Many thanks to all members who took part in MABAC events during 2010. Overall, 51 different members participated in at least one MABAC race in 2010. Any club member who took part in 6 or more events during 2010 will receive a MABAC t- shirt. Those qualifying for 2010 were Jim Boyling and Dave Wylie (8 races), Peter Drummond (7 races), and Graeme Brown, Heather Fenton and Phil Fenton (6 races).
Again for 2011, MABAC t-shirts will be given to members that complete 6 or more races.
As Epsom Oddballs running club is affliliated to the MABAC league we are asked to provide at least 4 marshals at the annual Cranleigh 15/21 mile running race every year. This year the race is on Sunday 20th March 2011 and I am asking for just 4 Oddballs, be they members, family or friends, to help marshal at the event. If you can help, please e-mail me at or telephone 01372 372655 to let me know.
Enjoy your running.
London Marathon Places - Rob Donkin
Congratulations to Ian Hadley, Paul Hart and Graeme Brown, who were awarded this year’s Club places for the London Marathon. The best of luck to the three of you and indeed to all Oddballs who may be taking part in this year’s event.
Predict-a-time - Dave Wylie
The predict-a-time event took place on 27 December 2010. Jim and I planned a challenging course from the Boxhill Road, looping round Headley Heath, of about 3.75 miles. When we planned it in October, I thought it would be tricky because of all the mud – and the odd hill! However, weather conditions on the day made it quite different. Mud was replaced by snow and ice, and the start of the course (along a track) was sheet ice, which forced us to shorten the course to about 3.4 miles.
The snow made the descent down the steep steps at the far end of the course very tricky, but Vincent deployed the kamikaze tactic of descending full tilt through the snow at the side of the steps, and finished the event in a very quick time of 22 mins 50. Closest to predicted time was Paul Ralton at 27 seconds under, followed very closely by Gerry Milton, who was 28 seconds over. Full results are shown below:
Pos Name Predicted Actual Variance
1 Paul Ralton 27.00 26.33 0.27 (-)
2 Gerry Milton 36.00 36.28 0.28 (+)
3 Steve Howson 32.15 33.01 0.46 (+)
4 Vincent van Woerkom22.00 22.50 0.50 (+)
5 Jane Pemberton 37.30 36.12 1.18 (-)
6 Sue Day 42.00 44.18 2.18 (+)
7 Adrian Murphy 26.30 28.55 2.25 (+)
8 Jason Thompson 26.00 28.50 2.50 (+)
9 Gareth Pemberton 29.00 32.01 3.01 (+)
10 John Brooker 25.49 28.56 3.07 (+)
11 Martin Day 41.00 44.18 3.18 (+)
12 Andy Poulton 25.00 28.43 3.43 (+)
13 Steve Nevard 28.10 32.03 3.53 (+)
14 Neil Herbert 30.00 36.01 6.01 (+)
This event is usually held on a bank holiday following Christmas. If anyone would like to devise and organise the predict-a-time run for 2011, please speak to a member of the committee. Help and guidance will be given as required.
Note from the Ed – Here’s a recipe that Roy Giddis would like to share with other members of the Club. He was good enough to give me a sample of the concoction – in a miniature breakfast marmalade jar, I must add! As he says, it has an orange liqueur taste, which I would certainly recommend to any would-be tipplers who want to try a bit of home-brewing.
Marmalade Gin
Ingredients: 1 bottle of standard Gin.
1 1lb jar of good quality Marmalade (dark for preference).
Method: Empty the gin and marmalade into a sealable container.
(e.g. A Kilner jar or similar)
Mix well.
Leave for 3 weeks (the container can be shaken during the first
week if desired).
After the 3 weeks filter the gin off the pulp and bottle.
There is no ‘maturation’ period so the Marmalade Gin can be
sampled straight away!
You will find, if the bottle is left undisturbed, that there will
be some further settling but this does not affect the taste.
The pulp that remains after filtering can be eaten on toast
Or mixed with plain yoghurt (shop bought or homemade)
Note: If you are wondering what it tastes like, it is akin to an Orange Liqueur.
Final MABAC Tables for 2010
Senior League Junior League
Club / TotalDorking & Mole Valley / 606
Runneymede Runners / 187
Epsom Oddballs / 112
Cranleigh Tortoise and Hare / 73
Pyrford Puffers / 56
Wimbledon Windmilers / 25
Ranelagh Harriers / 13
Club / Total
Runnymede Runners / 5267
Wimbledon Windmilers / 5179
Dorking & Mole Valley / 4333
Blackwater Valley Runners / 2822
Epsom Oddballs / 2485
Pyrford Puffers / 2244
MAGIC / 2093
Cranleigh Tortoise and Hare / 1123
Ranelagh Harriers / 1048
Godalming Fitness Group / 275
University of Surrey RC / 92
Hardest ever 10k? - Dave Wylie
I took part in the inaugural Vale Gallop 10k at Walton on the Hill on 20th February. It was organised by the Pony Club of Surrey, who are trying to raise funds to purchase the field they rent, as the current owner wants to sell off the land. My expectations of the organisation were quite low; what does a Pony Club know about running? Well, I was really impressed with the organisation. Chipped timing but no numbers; but then if you have chips, why do you need numbers? We were given a countdown to the start, even to the second. I have never experienced that before.
The start of the course around the field was not very clear, but we had a quad bike to follow - another first for me. The course led us out of the first field, into another, then across the Hurst Road and along farm tracks. I knew we were heading for Langley Vale Farm, but by this time I had quite lost my sense of direction. This field was particularly wet and slippery on the surface, and I was quite surprised to see a water station at the 2k mark. At least we won't come back this way, I thought, as the route goes up Ebbisham Lane. Didn't need a drink at this point, and I was going quite well anyway; it had been downhill or flat to this point. Then we came out to familiar territory - the sandy path known as the sheep dip. I knew this to be a difficult uphill track, but the recent wet weather made it very heavy going. Before reaching the road at the top, we turned off to the right, and I was lost again. I noticed a fairly busy road ahead, but couldn't work out which road it was.