Race Reports

'Vincit Qui Patitur'

This ever popular hilly road race had 1,319 finishers. The impressive African winner, Yared Hogos, finished in 1:06:53 (a couple of minutes outside the course record).

This ever popular hilly road race had 1,319 finishers. The impressive African winner, Yared Hogos, finished in 1:06:53 (a couple of minutes outside the course record). 

A decent showing of 10 MSTC members produced some good performances and PB's in near perfect conditions. 

I had a nice chat with Rachel, Lucy, Emma, Mike and Helen before the race. However, I did not manage to meet up with Steve, James, Hazel and Martin at all. Helen was the only one I managed to spot coming over the finish line with a stunning sub-2 hour run that was 10 mins better than her previous best. 

Residual fitness from ironman training earlier this season allowed me to take 4 mins off my 2011 Barns Green effort to get a very pleasing PB. Funny how months of training/racing at HR 140bpm allows one to get PB's racing at HR 170+bpm. Thought I'd managed my first ever podium finish for this 3rd in age-group result, only to find this race only gives awards for 1st and 2nd in age-group! 

Gun times (no chip time available at time of writing)

• Jim 1:22:36
• Mike 1:28:16
• James 1:29:28
• Steve 1:32:32
• Martin 1:37:25
• Lucy 1:44:10
• Rachel 1:46:38
• Hazel 1:51:51
• Helen 1:57:06
• Emma....................chip failure.....finished in a good time apparently

By Jim Graham

Club Records: /about-mstc/club-records.aspx

Results: http://www.sportsystems.co.uk/ss/results/Barns%20Green%20Half%20Marathon/851

Jeans Report

What a fantastic time I had, could not have enjoyed it anymore. Having all those familiar and friendly faces on the start line definitely made it more of a social fun run.

13 miles seem to fly past, maybe it was the continual talking! dancing at the water stops or just the wine!! whatever it was I was disappointed when we got to the finish.

Mile 2   First taste of white wine, Trevor's eyes lit up at all the Power Gels and started to fill his pockets.

Mile 6   Brought a queue for the toilets and welcome sponges, supplied by an old gentleman having the time of his life, sponging down all the ladies!!

Mile 10  Brought extra wine tasting - a water fight with me and Kay - Two courgettes! carried by Trevor and Jules (have you cooked them yet?) and a lovely picture of Claire skipping off into the distance.

Mile 13  MSTC competitiveness kicked in and there was a dash for the finish or it just could have been the tea, coffee, cake, fruit, Bar b q and more wine supplied at the end, so we greedily put back all the calories we had lost.

Bring it on again next year:)

Trev's Report
I'd just like to mention the pumpkins ... I was first competitor over the line carrying a pumpkin!

I also managed to eat more crisps , pretzels and jelly babies than anyone! And despite a valiant attempt from Jim I won the competition to earn the entry fee back by collecting as many gels as possible , even managing to store some inside Roses sports bra !

Also the MSTC medics at mile 12 ... Steve pumping that poor woman full of gels until she vomited!

And it was Roses first half marathon!

 

JulesReport
The "courgettes" are actually the size of small pumpkins rather than the sort you find in Sainsbury's!

Definitely the most fun I have ever, and I'm sure will ever, have on a half marathon. I echo Jean's sentiments when I actually got quite sad At mile 9 when I realised there were only 3 miles left!

I think the quantity of wine increased each stop due to realising that there were fewer and fewer people following us :-D

Clairs Report
Sunny 'Skippy' Sunday
I went to bed on Saturday night and slept soundly. On Sunday it was a perfect day, I left with my printed out map of the bike route to get to Denbies and met Jean on route.

Cycling to an event has to be the way to go, no problems with nerves. The route was great and Jean and I enjoyed the bike ride so much, it was more of a concern that my map reading skills - while cycling - would get us there (which they did). It was a beautiful scenic route and didn't feel like the 30 miles at all. We got to see the Olympic rings on the heights of Box Hill as we made our final road towards the Vinyard.

On arrival at Denbies, which was so lush-green and beautiful we were surrounded by runners dressed up to the nines! I liked the runners dressed up as vineyard grapes - by the time the run was done their balloons as had deflated with the heat of the sun pounding down on them and every so often a few would bang as the balloons burst with all the friction created.

It was Such a relief to be back in the swing of things, again. It really didnt feel like 13 miles. I was pretty certain that post injury that I would run 4 and walk the rest. I ran and skipped a very decent 12 plus miles. Meeting up with Fiona, Jo, Sharon, Graeme, Steve, Kay, Jim, Helen, Juls and of course Trevor and Rose was superb.

We had an enormous amount of fun, we chatted, danced and stopped of course at every feed-drink station to make sure that we were hydrated, re grouped and then we all ran on again. I did quite a lot of skipping ... I found that too much sugar does make for a very skippidy hoppidy me - thank goodness I didnt have any wine !

This event was really well organised, lovely marshalls and a really good event to be part of - sometimes running for fun, chatting with friends and enjoying the scenic view has to be a founditory reason for all the training that is done in the year. They provided a great post BBQ, music and the atmosphere was fantastic. I would definitely do this again, be more organised and dress up and would cycle back next time too.

Jim's Report
A great day for a PW (personal worst finish time).
Brilliant fun race with fancy dressing, wine, sunshine, friends and great scenery.
Felt like it was the South of France running beside vinyards in blazing heat.
Had the rare privelage to run with (and chat to) the race leader (eventual winner) for a couple of miles. Jonathan Ratcliffe had lapped me and I had no trouble keeping up with him for a while seeing as his legs were 13 miles more tired than mine. Jonathan is a 2:45 marathoner and won this event in 3:11, which shows how tough the course was with hills and half-drunk half-marathoners to negotiate.
Not for the first time, my competitive wife sprinted past me on the finish and beat me by a couple of seconds.

Sharons Report

Best half marathon I have ever done & best of all I achieved a PW (Personal Worse) - also the first time I have ever finished a run feeling a little bit tipsy (lightweight - I obviously don't get out much).

I've just checked the pics on the website & it's the first time I'm smiling while running - he! He! The scenery was fantastic and it was great to just stroll up the hills exercising the jaws from all the chatting

Also needs to be said on the race report that Steve was "chicked" at the finish post by at least a second - lol xx
 

Steve's Report

What a great race and my kind of nutrition plan more wine than you can drink and more jelly babies than you can eat a great social run except for the last 5 meters when the girls got a bit competitive :) think this will have to be a club run for next year.

Place	Time	Name
48	01:56:44	Fiona Bussell
138	02:14:54	Joanna Rendall
193	02:23:38	Helen Graham
194	02:23:40	James Graham
242	02:30:06	Graeme Fitzjohn
509	03:19:08	Claire Cresswell
562	03:43:56	Sharon Chladek
563	03:43:57	Kay McMenamin
564	03:43:57	Jean Fish
565	03:43:57	Steve McMenamin
567	03:44:05	Rose Ryan
568	03:44:05	Trevor Moore
0	03:43	Jules - times missing

 

 

 

As usual there were a couple of pantomime horses at the front which must have taken at least 2-3 minutes of every ones times as the runners attempted to get past and skidded on the manure, another PB slips away in the first few minutes.

There was a strange orange lady running that looked like she had drunk some special Orange fizzy drink from Willy Wonkers chocolate factory, expanded in strange places and changed colour

Jade (who was not orange) lavished in the sun shine, it was a beautiful day, and she really enjoyed 'racing' a fast course. 

Steve Mac also had a great race and felt very comfortable all the way round until about mile 10 when allegedly Saturdays bike ride came back to pay a visit, a quick stretch (he did not say where) and by mile 11 it was all ok again.

Jade set off steadily increasing her pace and surprised herself when she smashed her previous best time (that was previously well over 2 hours!) and even managed a negative split

Steve was running in his new MSTC running vest and  appeared to be missing 2 nipples at the end and has customised his vest with red go faster streaks

Well done to Andy who was quite surprised at his result with a stupendous 1.21.53 and third in his age group he says that despite being 53, it just goes to show that by laying off the alcohol, abstaining from sex and only eating fruit, it really can turn a man from being a cart horse plodder, who in previous years has only achieved a PB of 1:39, into a testosterone crazed athlete capable of dramatically improving his performance by 18 minutes.

Colin tried to hide from all the MSTC runners to save being taken down in the final minutes fortunately Steve Mac did not spot him but Martin did a sterling effort to chase him to the line crossing  just a few places behind. Colin would have gone faster but slipped on Steve's nipples (not for the first time) as they rolled across the road in search of the orange lady (in a kind of cathodic way)

The general consensus from the throng of disgruntled sweaty athletes moaning as as they crossed the line is that ½ mile was added on to the course (700m by my and others Garmins), which meant most had run slower than they thought they should have. The organisers have amended the race results to try and reflect this but not correctly and most agree that the calculations are wrong and additional time should be taken off the final results.

Colin (in his very boring nerdy way) believes that at least 3min 40secs should have been deducted from his original time as he was running an average of just under 7.20min miles, where only 2m 20 was deducted, so he is going to take of an additional 1:20 it all helps so all should give themselves a proper adjusted time by deducting half of a one mile pace from the original time.

Jim and Martin would benefit from the Colin rule of taking of extra time time to give exceptional PBs as will Helen who did a stonking PB, Jade, Jean and Steve also PB'd which were most deserved with Jim doing  a spectacular 1.25.01 which should be amended to sub 1.25 and Martin about 1.36

Steve Mac smashed his PB by nearly 7 mins to show that level pacing and steady Heart Rate really do work and for the first time felt like he could have carried on for a few more miles. If there was a prize for the biggest PB smash then maybe Steve and Jade are in the running.

Jade reckons it is a great course, great day, fun atmosphere and great results all round, terrible organisation but won't dwell on any negatives, no  bumping into the boobtastic Miss Price so an all round good day!

And a big cheer for the support from MSTC spectators inc Claire and Tim who have had their loyalty cards stamped - five more spectator sightings and they get a big sweaty club hug.

After a very short millisecond Andy honourably fessed up that he was not a turbo charged whippet capable of creaming the opposition and smashing younger club runners into the middle of next week, he was ill on the day and one of Steve Macs new pace makers had taken his place. Although if its there in print it's hard for the 'race time denialist' to argue as Colin knows with his 2.03 London Triathlon certificate which takes pride of place on his wall.

So it was all a bit Pee Bee City on the seafront with about eight noted and sorry if your PB has not been mentioned especially as they may be more PB's with the statutory Colin adjustment

 

	Chip time	Adjusted time	Proper adjusted time
Andrew Miles	1.23.53	1.21.53	1.20 something
Jim Graham	1.27.07	1.25.01	1.23 something
Colin Chambers	1.39.39	1.37.16	1.35.56
Martin Sanwell	1.39.45	1.37.22	1.36.02
Tamsin Clarke	1.45.44	1.42.05	1.40.45
Jade Overy	1.48.19	1.45.43	1.44 something
Steve Mac	1.53.19	1.50.36	1.49. something
Derek Hastings	1.59.46	1.56.53	1.55. something
Nancy Doyle	2.05.28	2.02.27	1.59.58 ish
Jean fish	2.09.04	2.06.08	2.05 ish
Helen Graham	2.11.38	2.08.28	2.06.59ish
Kay Mac	2.13.15	2.10.03	2.08. something

 

 

 Authors: Colin and various others

The pre-race favourite was always James, and he stormed off at the start. Jim Graham has been concentrating on his running and he also started very strongly. I am not noted for fast starts but went through the first mile in 6m23s, but James and Jim were already way out of sight, probably well under 6 minutes!! Soon after Phil Couch came cantering past looking very comfortable.

Colin went out fairly quickly, and was followed by Mark and Rachel who were being paced by Rob, who was barely at a jogging pace by his standards, whilst making Rachel and Mark run at their limit!

With Barns Green it is always the second half of the race that sorts everyone out as somehow it seems to be predominantly uphill, especially after 9 miles. By the half way mark though we already had two casualties. Clare had to pull out with cramp, which was very disappointing for her, and Emma stopped halfway. Her 6-month taper for this race had left her severely undertrained!

By 9 miles James had run into trouble. He was on course for a 1h23m finish when he developed severe stomach cramps. He gamely carried on, running and walking to still finish just outside 1h33m. Meanwhile Jim Graham kept up his excellent pace to be first home in 1.26.19. Phil could just see him at times but could not close the gap to finish in 1.27.12. Steve was delighted to run a very even race in 1.28.18.

Once Mark had got his breathing together he managed to push on to finish 14 seconds ahead of Rachel and Rob, but not before all three had caught and passed Colin late on. He wasn't wearing club kit and it was only the muttered expletives that made them realise they had overtaken him!  Rachel broke her PB by some 4 minutes so had a cracking run. John Liebers ran in place of Steve Mac (apparently worried that 14 pints of lager the night before might have an adverse effect) and did a time Steve would have been proud of - just outside 1h46m and a few minutes ahead of Del who did a respectable 1h52m.

Lucy had an excellent run to finish second lady in 1.46.30, and Kay planned and executed a very steady even race in 2h10m and Julie did an excellent 2.08.56 (?PB). I didn't even see Sharon in the melee afterward but she was third lady from the club just outside 2h6m. Julienne finished in 2h34m.

No race would be complete without the support crew so thanks to Steve Mac (and Murphy), Hazel and Pete for their consistent cheering.

MEN WINNER 1.10.30

Jim Graham   1.26.19  22.43%  10points
Phil Couch     1.27.12   23.69      9
Steve Alden   1.28.18   25.25      8
James Dear   1.33.19   32.35      7
Mark Jordan  1.41.00   43.26      6
Rob Hoodless 1.41.13  43.56      5
Colin Chambers 1.43.25 46.68    4
John Liebers   1.46.07  50.51      3
Del Hastings   1.52.33  59.64      2

WOMEN WINNER 1.22.45

Rachel Baker      1.41.14  22.33% 10points
Lucy Williams     1.46.30  28.70      9
Sharon Chladek  2.06.07  52.40      8
Kay McMenamin 2.10.18  57.46      7
Julie Williams     2.08.56  55.81      6
Julienne Stuart-Colwill 2.34.20 86.5  5
Emma Alden       DNF (6miles)         4
Clare Parkinson   DNF (cramp)         3

 

Author: Steve Alden

It was a good day to race - the sun was out with very little wind, and a slight chill in the air. Well done to all those that raced - Jules, Sam, Steve B, Andy, Kay, Julie, Claire C, Colin and Katie.

Very well done to Kay for setting a personal best - we will have you under the 2 hour mark, very shortly....