Dumfries Running Club Monthly Bulletin July 2013

Membership

Again our membership continues to go from strength to strength and we have another intake in the past month. Welcome aboard. You can find out all you need to know by talking to fellow members/committee members and by referring to our Notice Board at Nunholm or visiting our website at

Dumfries Running Club Half Marathon

We need helpers for this years race to Marshall/time-keep/direct runners at start/finish etc. If you aren’t running this years Dumfries Half Marathon on the Sunday the 22nd Sep, please get in touch with Danny Queen () and volunteer to help. If you are running please feel free to volunteer a friend or family member. The race is open for entries and the latest count shows 104 entries, which promises to give record entries in recent times. If you are planning to run, get your entry in early to avoid dissappointment!

Dates for the diary

PLEASE REMEMBER IF YOU ARE RUNNING IN ANY DRC EVENTS IN ORDER TO CLAIM POINTS AND PRIZES YOU NEED TO BE A FULLY PAID UP MEMBER. BE ENTERED AS A DRC MEMBER AND BE WEARING A CLUB VEST OR ONE OF OUR NEW CLARET AND BLUE T-SHIRTS. THE WHITE TECHNICAL T-SHIRTS AREN’T OFFICIAL CLUB KIT.

Sun 11th August – Club BBQ at Peter’s

It’s time for the annual gathering at Peter’s house for a run/swim and a spot of food. Tickets are available form Maggie Gray and Steve Mohan. There will be a charge of £7.50 per person (kids eat free) to cover the cost. (Bring your own drink). You can’t send the kids down for the day and take off for some peace and quiet…I have already asked

Monday 12th August – Mabie 4 mile Handicap

Organised by Les starting at 7pm sharp at the back of the bike shed, run on forest tracks this is a good training run for all club runners. Les charges £2 to enter and donates the proceeds to charity,. The winner of the watch free handicapped race wins a bottle of wine…now your talking. Les hopes to see many there in August, more details on the calendar on club website.

Tuesday August 27th – DRC brings you the Blackwood Trail Race

Anothersmall, local and friendly race organised by DRC’s Frank Skackill, this promises to become a real favourite within the clubs membership. With new landowners at the host Estate the previous issues with access have been resolved and the race night should run smoothly from now on

DRC have agreed to support Frank by adopting the race and taking it under DRC ownership. Therefore the next plea for helpers is hardly a big surprise. As with other club events, if you aren’t planning to run, please let Frank know ()and volunteer if you can to help out. Even a relatively low key event like this takes a lot of organisation and there are plenty of jobs before and on the night for willing helpers.

More details should appear nearer the race so keep an eye on the website and forum etc.

Sat 31st August – Training Runs at AeForest

We are hoping to get a day organised for a run at Ae. I believe there are several different distances to choose from and all members will find someone to run with. With this being just a few days before the Gallovidian, the idea is to have an easy run in pleasant surroundings with some good company. More details to follow over the next week or so…

Wed 4th September – Gallovidian 10k (Dumfries)

We are now at the business end of the Grand Prix with many positions still to be decided and prizes still to be keenly contested. Jo looks to have the ladies all but in the bag, but will Sian pip Lisa into 2nd place? Who will win the battle for vet 50, Danny is in pole position but Sandy might have a say in matters yet! The Gallovidian is in our home town and organised by our friends and fellow runners at Dumfries Harriers. For anyone new to the club and/or this race, (also Jacob!!) please be aware it has to be pre-entered. Entries are available via the Dumfries Harriers website. It is a flat route leaving the High School and out the Lockerbie Road, turning left towards Heathall Industrial Estate and then through the Industrial Estate and past the Garden centre and Bannatynes (under the A75) and back to the High School. With a finishing sprint to the line on the newly re-surfaced athletics track, we should see a few trade-marks fast finishes from Messer’s Dickie and Johnston amongst others. It’s flat and ideal for a pb. Also there is a full range of runners, so people taking on a new challenge whether it is distance or time will feel at home. Let’s turn out in force to show-case our club on our home turf

Charity Runners

John Jarvie is targeting 5 half marathons this year as he raises money for his chosen charity – Good luck John.

If you are running for Charity and would like a mention, let me know via email and I can add you name and details on this space, also get a post on the website forum as we have several followers on there!

Club Grand Prix Update

Moffat 15k (with a big hill)

Moffat was the 6th of 9 races selected for the DRC Grand Prix and in true DRC style; we turned up in good numbers and duly took home some silverware. How good is it to see Steven Smith back in DRC vest? Even if he makes it look easy as he disappears into the distance…welcome back Stevieboy (2nd place overall, 1st from the club - 30 points in the bag). Yours truly was 3rd overall, and 2nd from the club with 29 points. Graeme headed off the slightly hampered Jacob and showed how his training is progressing, along with Terry and Richard not too far behind.

On the ladies side, it was a return to early season spoils with the returning Sian picking up 30 points, while Mo came home second with 29 points. Amy showed great potential picking up 28 points as did Nuria with 27 points.

As always we had a team of members (injured/recovering etc) and former members to spur us on. Doug and Jo at the top of the hill and Les half way down it and Danny near the finish to name but a few helped to spur tired runners on. Words of wisdom from Les certainly help spur runners on in the closing stages. Thanks for the support from you guys and girls it does make a difference!!

Although this run isn’t fun at the time, it is one we seem to have a great affinity for and also one that we look forward to each year…yes us runners are a strange lot.

Gelston 5 mile (Castle Douglas)

Great turn out from the club I made it 44 runners and a good few organising/helping/supporting. Again competition for GP points was evident and just as importantly people seemed to enjoy this race and many people reported pb’s and best for while runs etc. Jo took 30 points giving her an almost un-beatable lead in the GP tables, recovering well from the Ultra Trail run setting a new course record and finishing 3rd overall. 4 Grand Prix races this year, maximum points and 4 course records, not a bad year then!! Following closely behind in a pb and if I right first sub 30min 5 miler was Lisa in 29.08, (I reckon that beat the previous course record as-well) well done Lisa you deserve that one…now for 29min? Kirsten came home in under 35 mins picking up 28 points as 3rd club runner. On the men’s side that menace Smith was at it again! Only joking mate, well done Steven on winning the race and in a great time of 28.05. Trying desperately to keep with him was yours truly in 28.28 and 2nd overall (29 points). Richard had to be on his toes in the finishing straight to hold onto 4th spot (29.59) and 3rd male from the club proving he has good speed over this distance. Graeme came home with a pb and smashed the 30min barrier in a time of 29.27. There were many other great results including a return to form for Willie Mason, a pb for Val Coltart and a return to good form for Donald Anson. Les and Sandy continue on the road to recovery and will be giving the Vet 50 runners something to think about as-well as many of the younger runners in the club! To all of you, thanks for making this a great race and advert for DRC!!

Notable Performances this month: (A massive amount of good personal improvements out there and it’s impossible to track them all)

Without a doubt the highlight of the month was Jo Zakreweski who wasn’t content with being selected for team GB at the World Trail Championship held in Wales, but in addition finished 4th overall and first GB runner in the 75km trail run. Yes 75km as in about 47 miles, who thinks these things up? With a fast finish her time for the last 1k was something most of us couldn’t do in a straight race! This showed the recovery from the Comrades was complete and the long training runs coupled with speed-work all under the tutelage of Doug Brown are paying off.

Team GB, the rest of us can but dream!!

Doug holds the Thursday night track sessions and also occasional hill reps etc to help all runners develop speed/speed endurance and running technique (if we can’t be quick we may as-well look half decent!). As a trained coach, Doug carefully plans sessions to fit in/around races and this has proved invaluable to Jo and others in the club as they progress towards their various goals. This structure is now spreading through the Monday and Tuesday nights as mentioned last month. If track and hill-work seem a bit daunting, Les holds a Thursday Speed-play group and aims to provide a range of session to suit all levels. Yes we are spoilt for choice pain, pain or eh, pain!!

We seen some new runners at Moffat, Amy Beck showed great potential! We alsoseen Scott Pikealthey along with Callum Walker and Nuria Blasquez in action who are all recent additions to our club. These runners were accompanied by many other club runners including Wee Mo who has completed every Grand Prix event so far this year as with previous years – well done Mo! Amongst the total of 29 club runners finishing was the smiling Sandy Shankland, what a promising comeback that was, and also getting over recent injury woes were David Burns and Sian Finlay. Not running at Moffat due to ongoing recovery was Les Hill who had some 2 days earlier completed a hill run. The trio of Les/David/Sandy can share some stories and were all 73/74min half marathon runners in their day…how many people in the club can lay claim to that just now?

The Gelston 5 mile race has been covered but again what a great advert for our club. 40% of the runners came from Dumfries Running Club and again we collected the majority of silver-ware (beer and wine)!

Recruitment Drive

Let’s just say the email box hasn’t been clogged up with volunteers fighting to take on these vital roles within our club. Remember the events etc don’t just happen it is a s a result of hard work and organisation of volunteers from within the club. Having said that if Danny can do it…

HALF MARATHON ORGANISER

This is Danny’s 3rd and final year as race organiser for the DRC Half Marathon and the club needs to have a replacement in place ASAP. Danny’s enthusiam and meticulous planning have seen the race grow in popularity and it is in good shape for someone to come in and take this forward again. Ideally we are looking for a 3 year commitment and realise that there is a fair bit to do, however by coming forward now, you will be able to shadow Danny in the lead-up to and on the day of the race, what better preperation could you have. As always there will be a team of volunteers to help, what we need is someone to coordinate the preperations and the day itself.

HALF MARATHON ENTRY SECRETARY

For more years than I’ve been involved in the club, Mhairi Duff has fulfilled the role of Half Marathon Race Secretary. This has evolved in recent years and I guess become a little less onerus with the introduction of on-line entries. Mhairi goes about this queitly and efficiently and her efforts are greatly appreciated by the club. Mhairi has continued this role despite no longer being a member as she is now concentrating on the Triathlons. Again by coming forward now, there is an opportunity for a decent hand-over with Mhairi.

Please come forward and offer your help to maintain our Half Marathon as a premium Running Event on the Scottish Running Calendar. If you are interested, please email

Finally, just reminder to nominate any charities that you would like to benefit from the club entries

Charity

As a goodwill gesture DRC will be donating£500 pounds from the entry fees from the Half Marathon to the SANDS charity. (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Charity).

There are other opportunities from the various races to donate other sums of money. This is something that we can do as club to give back something to the communities we live and run in. Whilst the sums of money will depend on the entry level to our various races and the general finances of the club, we hope to do this 5 times a year including after our main event the Half Marathon. What we would like from our members is some suggestion for future recipient charities. Please email your preference to

If you can do this no later than the 10th of August, this will allow consideration at the August committee meeting and hopefully a decision and announcement to be made towards the end of August.

Happy Running 