Biggleswade AC Apr 2006

Your editor apologises for the late arrival of this newsletter - a large number of newsletter items coincided with some other responsibilities

Sandy Open Meeting - help needed!
Easter Saturday, 15 April, 12 noon

You no doubt know about the Sandy Open meeting on Easter Saturday that we are running in conjunction with Bedford. We had thought that Bedford would be providing most of the officials - silly us, they have got three ! We need about 25.

We should have enough qualified officials to have at least one on each field event but they will need another three or four to help them. No experience is necessary, it will just be to hold tapes, replace high jump bars, help rake pits, smooth long jump plasticine, etc. If you volunteer now you can even choose what you want to do !

We really want to show Bedford that we have a vibrant club with lots of people willing to help. If you can help please let Ken Prior know now - he could do without losing any more nights' sleep !

Annual General Meeting, 21 March

Many thanks to those of you (a total of 26) who turned up to the Club's AGM - we were delighted to see you.

The retiring committee was re-elected apart from Jan Forrester who had decided to step down from her role as committee member and Ladies Captain; we thank Jan for all her past help and support. Zoe Dawson was elected to take over the role of Ladies Captain. Two new committee members, Tim Huxtable and Giles Keen, were elected. The committee is now:

Chairman	Nigel Bush
Hon. Secretary	Stuart Galloway
Hon. Treasurer	Chris Clarke
Vice Chairman	Ken Prior
Track Secretary	David Brown
Road/Cross Country Sec.	Neil Gregory
Youth Sec/Schools Liaison	Ken Prior
Coaching Secretary	Steve Worrall
Child Protection Officers	Zoe Dawson and David Hindle
Newsletter Editor	David Hindle
Ladies Captain	Zoe Dawson
Deputy Road/X-Country Sec.	Gavin Elliott
Marketing Manager	Gavin Elliott
Press Officer	Tanya Tatchley
Webmaster/Committee member	Tim Huxtable
Committee Member	Giles Keen

The Trustees are Rex Ball, Kathleen Hindle, and Graham Brown

Annual subscriptions stay at the current level for 2007, but we are adopting a sliding scale of membership fee during the first year, depending on the month in which a person joins.

We continue to support the Chiltern, Three Counties, and North West London Cross Country Leagues, and our Club Championship road races will be those selected for the County Championships.

Because of time commitments in preparing for the Sandy 10, the AGM will be changed from March to mid/late April, depending on when Easter falls. The next AGM will be held on Tuesday 24th April 2007."

Sandy 10 Road Race and 2 Mile Fun Run - 26 March

A "thank you" from Nigel...

A huge thanks to everyone who helped with this year's Sandy 10 race. We had over 530 entries, with 420 finishers, the biggest field in the 23 year history of the event. Everything ran like clockwork on the day, and we had a huge number of kind comments and thanks from the runners after the race (check out our web site forum for a sample of the comments left by runners). The test of a successful race is "will the runner do the race again" and so far 97% of responses have said YES, which is fantastic. But this would not have happened without your help, your encouragement to the runners and your professional attitude. Well done all.

...and a report of the race

Nigel Marley from Kettering Town Harriers stormed to victory, recording a time of 57 min 29 secs, despite the strong blustery wind. Steve Poole improved on last year's 3rd place to finish 2nd this year, just 24 seconds behind the winner. Simon Bell from Fairlands Valley Spartans was 3rd a further minute behind.

In the lady's race, local runner Paula Adams from Letchworth (NHRR) headed the field to win in a very good time of 65 min 09 sec. Fiona Bailey of Ramsey Road Runners followed less than one minute later, and Donna McEwen of Bedford Harriers was 3rd in 67 min 16 sec.

The first three in each race went home with a fine trophy and a voucher entitling them to a pair of New Balance running shoes, worth up to Ł100, generously donated by race sponsor Sweatshop Cambridge. All finishers received a Tee-Shirt, Cereal Bar supplied by Jordans Cereals, and a bottle of V8 Juice supplied by Campbells Soups. The goodies were handed out at the finish line by the Mayor and Mayoress of Sandy, David and Rosemary Gale. Many thanks to David and Rosemary for also starting the race and staying behind for the presentation ceremony.

In the veteran's categories, superb performances were posted by Craig Sabin (Hancote Harriers) who just failed to beat the hour in the Male 40+ category, but had enough in reserve to hold off the fast finishing Peter Sibbett (NHRR) and Kevin Willett (Bedford Harriers). Graham King (Bedford Harriers) also set a very fast time of 64 min 25 sec in the Male Vet 50+ category. The closest finish of the day was in the Male Vet 70+ category where Tom Horne of Barnet & District finished in 79 min 49 sec, just 5 seconds in front of another MV70, John Butcher from Ware Joggers. The competitive spirit never dies!

The team prizes went to North Herts Road Runners in the Men's event and Bedford Harriers in the Lady's event. Bedford also won the Erlensee Cup, presented to the club who entered most runners, and the Harriers won this easily with 64 runners. First Sandy man home was Mark Sylvester and first Sandy lady Penny Duffin.

Local MP Alistair Burt ran a controlled race to finish in a comfortable 84 min 30 sec. Alistair was very pleased with his run and commented that he is well on target for the London Marathon in 3 weeks time. He was not the only one using the race as part of their preparation for the London Marathon. Many of the runners were using the race as their last outing before the London Marathon on the 22nd April, and they found the course and event organisation to their liking.

In the Race HQ at Sandy Sports Centre, many of the runners made use the superb service offered by a group of Sports Therapists from Luton University, who were able to provide a warm up massage before the event, and a relaxing massage for tired limbs after the race.

The 2 Mile Fun Run attracted over 50 runners of all ages, and first home was Toby Hone from Royston Crows, in 12 min 37 sec, who won the junior male trophy. The winner of the junior female trophy was Claire Smith from Ramsey Road Runners in 14min 51 sec. The senior male and female trophies went to James Berridge and Teri Campbell.

Annual Subscriptions - Now (Over)Due

Many thanks to those of you who have re-joined the club again this year, the total is currently 93. This still leaves about 50 people from last year who have not re-joined yet. We don't want to lose you, so get that money in to Stuart Galloway or Chris Clarke as soon as possible (Ł15 seniors and Ł7 juniors) - it's easy to forget, so why not do it now!

Sandy 12-Hour Track Relay - Sat 24 June

Job Vacancy - Team Selector

We would like to enter at least 2 teams into this event (a team consists of 6 people with a minimum of 2 ladies in each). It promises to be a fun event building team spirit and morale. If you would like to enter a team of BAC members or be part of a team what ever your ability please make your view heard via the forum or speak directly to the organising committee (Nigel, Ken, Gav, Tim or Damo). Please don't just sit back as there is only a limited amount of teams allowed to run. We are looking for two or three team leaders to attack this challenge and hopefully lead Biggleswade Athletic Club onto victory.

Check out www.biggleswadeac.org.uk/12hr.html for more details

Biggleswade AC Annual Pentathlon
Tuesday 11th April - please note change of date

This annual (almost) internal competition, for which awards will be presented, will take place at the Sandy Sports Centre - see Gavin Elliot, David Brown, or Ken Prior for more information.

Schools Track Relays - Wed 3 May

These relay events (3 x 800 m; 3 x 600 m; 3 x 400 m; 3 x 200 m; 4 x 100 m), are being organised by Biggleswade AC for the 3rd year, and will take place at Sandy Sports Centre, first race 4 pm. Help is required for track judging, timekeeping, and take-over judges. Contact David Brown

Schools cross-country relays
Thurs 9 Mar at Rowney Warren, 3pm

There's a very full report in the "Results" section of the Club website, with a photo and links to results by age and gender.

The Tuesday Night Programme

You can find these and other training events in the training section of the Club website

In addition to the below, every Tuesday and Thursday night Steve Worrall (Level IV Coach) will also be taking extra speed and endurance sessions for those who feel they need them.

** 4th Apr Route 51
** 11th Apr Annual Pentathlon (This may over-run)
18th Apr Visit to the Black Barn
25th Apr Speedwork with Steve
(London Maarathon runners please bring your medals)
2nd May Everton Loop
9th May RSPB loop
16th May Blunham River loop
23rd May Grafham Away Day
30th May Speedwork with Steve
** changes from original program

Thursday evenings will be "General Running", dictated by the race calendar, and is tailored on the night to the participants needs. Runners are usually split into ability groups to ensure everyone has a good run.

If you would like to lead an Away Day in your home town, or you have any comments about the above programme please speak to Gavin or any of the committee.

Leagues, Series, and Other Events

Club 10k Championship
The club's 10K Championship Road Race will be held in conjunction with the Flitwick 10K on Sunday 9th April.

Joint warm-up track meeting with Bedford & County AC on Sat 15 Apr
(date change)

Eastern Young Athletes League (EYAL)
For U13, U15 and U17 age groups
All meetings are on Sundays

May	7	Milton Keynes
Jun	18	Huntingdon
Jul	2	Bedford
Jul	30	Sandy
Aug	20	Luton

Southern Mens and Womens Leagues 2006
All meetings are on Saturdays
The Team Managers are Sharron Best and David Brown

Women
22 Apr	Watford
20 May	Barnet Copthall
15 Jul	Cambridge
12 Aug	Peterborough (2ndary Hosts)
2 Sep	Sandy (Prime Hosts)

Men
29 Apr	Woodford Green
20 May	Luton
3 Jun	Sutcliffe Park
8 Jul	Walthamstow
5 Aug	Basildon

Round Norfolk Relay - 16th-17th Sept 2006
Here we go again for the greatest team event we attended last year. But this year we want to enter TWO teams!! For those who have never done it before, this is your chance. What ever your ability, we need you. We know its 6 months away but mark it in your diaries now and let Gavin know you are available. Teams consist of 17 runners plus a dedicated support team. A large number of people have already shown an interest on the club forum. Team and leg selection will be made nearer the time but Gavin needs to know if you are available to run/help.
Mr Logistics (Tim "Club Person of the year" Huxtable) has already offered his services so we know everything is going to run smoothly. For any more information please see any of the 28 people who travelled to Norfolk last year for this fabulous event.
There's more information on the race and its history at www.roundnorfolkrelay.com, and more about the club's plans at www.biggleswadeac.org.uk/RNR.html

Birmingham - a runner's view

Alice Middleton, a 1st year U20 Woman, gave us her experience of the AAA Championships:

Over the weekend of the 4th and 5th March, 5 of us went to compete in the AAA Championships at Birmingham Indoor Arena. From my point of view it was an amazing experience and I am sure the other athletes would say the same. The atmosphere and organisation of the weekend was brilliant and we all felt very important being escorted around before our events!!

Overall I came 7th in the 800 meters race and my time was just outside my PB which I was very pleased with and now I can't wait to have another try next year.

It was a lovely change from standing in a cold and wet field on a Saturday morning before doing cross country and I know my parents would agree!!

There's also an account of this event in the results section

New Members

Welcome to the following athletes recently elected as members of the Club:

  Sharyn Bray   a senior from Tempsford
  Philip Housden   a senior from Sandy
  Lindsey Morgan   a senior from Potton
  Tom Bell-Green   a junior from Biggleswade

Best of luck in all your athletic endeavours!

NEWS FOR YOUNG ATHLETES

Sportshall Athletics
The Sportshall Challenge held Saturday 25th April at Sandy although disappointing from a competition point of view, was a success from a club point of view. Late phone calls from Leighton Buzzard and Riverside (apologies but they wouldn't be sending anyone) meant we had to quickly rearrange our programme to make it a club event with guests. At the end all competitors were shouting for more so more relays were quickly arranged.
Sportshall at Biggleswade has now stopped until next winter. Watch this space for more information.
All Tuesday and Thursday JUNIOR sessions now start at 6.30 pm