Biggleswade AC September 2007

Night Time Running

As the nights start to draw in please can all members running on the roads remember to wear their florescent running vests.
If you are a junior please see Cassie as the club have been donated a large number of children's size vests.

Fairy Run Date Announced

Get ready to dusk off your wings!! Saturday 22nd December will be the annual Biggleswade Athletic Club Fairy Run!! Some seniors are already preparing. Watch out for appearances again this year from "The Green Haired Fairy" "WKD Blue Fairy" "Old enough to know better Fairy" "The Fairy twins" and "118 Fairy". More information to follow shortly.

The FORUM is for ALL

Please can all parents of juniors and juniors themselves be aware that the FORUM on the club website (www.biggleswadeac.org.uk) can be used by all. It is kept right up to date. Currently about 50 members use it each day to leave running-related messages, or ask questions about up and coming events. It's great fun so why not take a look today - you could even leave a question on it for one of your coaches or wish someone happy birthday from the club.

Club Championship Races

The 5Km distance has been added to the club championship events, both for the ladies and men. There will therefore be two extra trophies that will be fought over and presented at the annual Club dinner in January 2008. The three Stevenage 5Km races later in the year have been selected as the qualifying events, so the trophies will go to the fastest man and lady out of the three races, on an age graded basis.

Don't forget that this year's 10 mile club championship race is being held in conjunction with the Leighton Buzzard 10 miles on Sunday 23rd September. Let's get as many club members as possible to this scenic event.

The Half Marathon championship race is the Bedford Harriers Half Marathon which has a provisional date of Sunday 9th December.

Biggleswade Open Track and Field Meeting - Sat 29 Sep

We are hosting our annual open meeting at Sandy from 10 30 am.. There are events for all ages and abilities. Any help would be greatly appreciated not only on the day judging/measuring/results etc (if you don't want to compete), but before hand also in compiling the programme/numbers/grading the entries etc. If you can help please contact David/Ken or post on the forum.

There's more information and an application form on the web site. Applications for field events need to be in by 21 Sep.

Club Rounders (Juniors v Seniors)

On a wet and cold evening on the 21st of August, the Juniors once again thrashed the Seniors by 8 rounders to 7 (after the 2nd ball was lost on the school roof). Well done Juniors! Maybe we should have mixed teams next year to give some Seniors a chance.

From the Club Committee...

Marketing the Club - At a recent meeting of the Committee we spent some time discussing how we can market the club in a more professional way. Some excellent ideas were proposed so it is hoped that we will see a significant rise in club membership before the end of the year.

Appointment of Trustees - Approaches will be made to a couple of our retired members to see if they will take on the role. This is an action that has been ongoing since the time of our last AGM.

Victor Ludorum - Although not possible this year, the idea was discussed at the last committee meeting of presenting a Victor Ludorum to the outstanding athlete of the year, starting in 2008. The qualification criteria have yet to be decided.

New Committee Member - We had great pleasure in co-opting Ray Dowse onto the committee as Junior Membership Secretary, and thank him for volunteering to take on this onerous task. We would also like to thank Cassie Prior for taking on the administrative work associated with Track Passes.

The Seniors Tuesday Night Programme

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

4th Sep Shefford Away Day - Navigators Way
*** 11th Sep Speedwork with Zoe
18th Sep Everton Loop
25th Sep The Ups and Downs of Hills
2nd Oct Handicap Race - meet at The Bell, Sandy
*** you may need a track pass or to pay for a day pass when doing Speed or Track work

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

If anyone would like to organise an AWAY DAY in your village or town in 2007, or a run on your favourite training route, please let Gavin or one of the committee know.

Leagues, Series, and Other Events

Round Norfolk Relay: 15th/16th September
The team has been selected and stages allocated - see www.biggleswadeac.org.uk - activities - RNR
Grafham Relay: Sat 22nd September
Get your teams ready for the 2nd Grafham Relay. Teams of 8 will compete around the waters. So gather together your friend or advertise for some on a string on the forum to pick up this years trophy. Junior teams as well as senior teams are welcome. Each leg is approximatley 1 mile long.
Eastern Young Athletes League

Sun 9th Sep Cup and Plate finals
National Junior Athletics League, Thames Division

Sat 9th Sep Finals at Moorways Stadium, Derby
Chiltern Cross Country League
runs on Saturdays - there may be other races

13 Oct Watford
10 Nov Oxford Horspath
1 Dec (venue tba)
12 Jan (venue tba)
9 Feb Wing
Three Counties Cross Country League
runs on Sundays - there may be other races

28 Oct (provisional date) Dunstable
11 Nov Shuttleworth
16 Dec (provisional date) Letchworth
13 Jan (provisional date) Ampthill

Membership

Welcome to the following junior athletes who have recently joined the Club:

  Chloe Best    of Shefford
  Megan Day    of Biggleswade
  Stephanie Forster    of Great Barford
  Christopher Forster    of Great Barford - a 2nd Claim member
  William Forster    of Great Barford - a 2nd Claim member
  Kathleen Gatward    of Biggleswade
  Nathen Gower    of Sandy
  Marcus Ingham    of Sandy
  Melissa Sergent    of Potton
  Belinda Sergent    of Potton
  Jacob Tose    of St Neots

Best of luck in all your athletic endeavours!

We also welcome back Maria Tatchley to the Club.

Dorset Doddle - Sunday 19th August

Three Biggleswade AC runners had entered the event, a gruelling 31 mile trail run that follows the coastal path from Weymouth to Swanage, including over 8000 feet of ascent. Roger Wadeley, Chris Clarke and Nigel Bush had been training hard for the event for several weeks, but little did they realise that Gav Elliott and Paula Dawson had secretly entered three weeks before the race. Gav and Paula's appearance at 7.30am on the coach that takes the runners from Swanage to the start in Weymouth was a complete surprise.

About 190 runners and walkers started the event which took place in cool conditions with a favourable following wind. Roger, who had won the event in previous years (when he was a few years younger!), and who still holds the course record of 4h 22m, set off determined to keep up with the leading pack. Nigel and Chris decided to start steadily, hoping to pick off fading runners over the final gruelling miles. Paula, who was running the event for the first time, started at an easy pace with chaperone Gav, determined to finish the course and enjoy the superb coastal scenery.

Many thanks to Ken for his support along the route, and to the runner's wives who provided much needed sustenance and water at Lulworth Cove and Kimmeridge.

Roger finished the event in 4th place in a superb 5h 42m. Chris and Nigel ran together all the way and completed the course in the top 20 in 6h 36m, a new PB for Chris. Gav and Paula, who was still smiling as she crossed the line, finished in 8h 12m - a superb effort for a debutant.Doddler.