Wadhurst Runners

Blog News - Goodbye Cruel World!!

2009-06-13T09:41:00.005Z

This Blog has now come to the end of its natural and eventful life.

Blog Ed would like to offer sincere thanks to Peter Burfoot and Albert Kemp for their regular contributions. Thanks too to the other couple of Waddies Sally, Sara and Mike Mackay for their occasional but valuable contributions.

To those who have made no contribution but still read the Blog and enjoyed the postings - that's what it was here for so glad to be of some service.

And, of course, to those who took no interest in the Blog but still whinged and moaned - I presume its time now to seek out other targets.

Waddies news will continue to be posted on the new Blog where Blog Ed Eddie will, no doubt be eager to take your news.

You'll find the new Blog at www.wadhurst-runners.blogspot.com

11th June 2009 - June Round Up and News

2009-06-13T09:37:00.001Z

Worthing 10k

11 Waddies ventured to Worthing for the 10k SGP race. The conditions were very conducive to fast times, being quite cool and cloudy with a very light breeze and dampness in the air and there were a number of pbs. Congratulations to all the finishers.

In a field of 553 finishers, Waddies dominated the top 10 in many categories. Helen Goddard was 1st F35, Nell Neary was 2nd F55, Lyn Hayes was 3rd F45, Albert Kemp was 5th V60, Peter Burfoot was 6th V55 and Russell Carr was 8th Senior Male and 10th overall in the race. Well done everybody!

Here are the results:-

GunPos Bib Gun Time Name Sex Cat Club Chip Pos Chip Time
10 273 00:35:34 Russell Carr M Wadhurst Runners 10 00:35:34
21 320 00:37:15 Ciaran Osborne M Wadhurst Runners 21 00:37:14
61 162 00:40:07 James McKinney M Wadhurst Runners 61 00:40:03
85 270 00:41:37 Helen Goddard F 35 Wadhurst Runners 85 00:41:36
97 20 00:42:13 Linda Hayes F 45 Wadhurst Runners 99 00:42:11
98 63 00:42:15 Peter Burfoot M 55 Wadhurst Runners 103 00:42:13
115 101 00:42:46 Nick Brooker M 45 Wadhurst Runners 115 00:42:42
239 51 00:47:22 Albert Kemp M 60 Wadhurst Runners 240 00:47:18
256 180 00:48:06 Helen Neary F 55 Wadhurst Runners 256 00:47:54
511 93 01:00:30 Fiona Seabrook F 35 Wadhurst Runners 511 01:00:05
549 246 01:07:01 Sara Wrenn F 50 Wadhurst Runners 548 01:06:36

Afterwards many repaired to the Fish Factory for a most enjoyable and well-deserved meal.

Track session

There was an excellent attendance of 14 runners and junior supporters at the track session this evening, despite the exertions at the Worthing 10k yesterday evening.

This evening we had a pyramid session with 400m, 800m, 1200m, 800m and 400m interspersed with a slow 400m lap.

After a brief respite, there was a final timed lap. The results were:-

Michael M Fastest Lap by far (but defective timer/timekeeper)
Lyn 77.99 secs
Peter 78.02 secs
Matt 79.03 secs
Hayley 81.95 secs
Ben 91.71 secs
Albert 91.72 secs
Melinda 91.79 secs
Amy 94.81 secs.

Claire, Sara, Fi, Helen Goddard, Hannah and Katrina also ran but sat out of the timed lap.

Next week Roger should be in charge once again - assuming his flight lands on time, but in case it doesn't, he has devised a programme for next week too, Claire will bring it with her to the session.

Flying Coach session

Don't forget that Dave Leach our UKA Flying Coach from Lewes will be paying us another visit next Tuesday 16th June at 7.15. The session will be geared towards 5k/10k.

All those who are interested in becoming a coach should ensure they attend the session. For everybody else attendance at the session will be an option to the normal club run.

Midsummer Hash

This race organised by Nice Work is about to have its 3rd running. To quote from their e-mail:-

" Just a reminder that our 3rd Midsummer-ish Hash-ish from Peasmarsh takes place on Thursday 18th June.

Once again the event will feature a run, a free children's run, a barbecue and live music from our own Lyn and Martin Hayes. Lyn will be showing just how easy it is to do a 5 mile run and still have enough energy to belt out some classics!!

The race starts at 7pm with sign on from 6.30.

Not strictly speaking a Hash nor strictly speaking is it on Midsummer's Day! This is a fairly easy, timed 4/5 mile route through the quiet country lanes in Peasmarsh and Iden, near Rye. As well as individual prizes there's also the little matter of the team prize with the rivalry with Hastings Runners set to be renewed - the Waddies will be hoping to grab back the trophy so cruelly denied them last year!

The event is purely a social event and we normally attract 30 or 40 local runners - a bit of fun to celebrate summer there's no fundraising or profit sought so we just ask for a suggested donation of £5 to cover food and some prizes. Afterwards, as well as the barbecue, we'll have a prize giving, with awards to individuals and teams.

The Royal Oak is in Rye Foreign, located on the A 268 Peasmarsh to Rye main road.

Non running friends and family are welcome.

To give us some idea of numbers for catering, we'd appreciate it if you could let us know if you're likely to attend.

Hope to see you there."

Please e-mail Martin@nice-work.org.uk if you plan to attend. It would also help if you could let me know so that I can devise a team strategy.

Albert's Box of Tricks

Albert will be modelling special Paramo wear at our Club night on Tuesday 23rd June with a Special Offer to members.

SGP

Work on the results is progressing and we hope to be able to make an announcement in the next few weeks. There is an SGP Committee Meeting on 29th June. On behalf of the SGP Peter will also be attending on 19th June the next meeting of the Road Race Committee of Sussex Athletics followed by the Executive Committee, so if any Waddies have any comments on the outcome of the Sussex Athletic Network Workshop, please let Peter know in good time.

The next SGP race is on Sunday 28th June at Heathfield for the 10k which is also part of the Sussex 10k Challenge series this year.

8th June 2009 Bewl 15 Update

2009-06-13T09:35:00.001Z

Wadhurst Runners are holding their 10th Bewl 15 running race on 5th July 2009, being one circuit of the pretty undulating paths, tracks and roads around the beautiful Bewl Water with the start and finish at the same site in Wadhurst. The race has come of age.

The Waddies report that they are fast outstripping the race limit. Currently they have 342 registered runners; of which the online entrants have reached 149 which is 216% greater than this time last year.

The race commences at 10.30 at the entrance to the Little Pell Farm, Blacksmith’s Lane, Wadhurst and the leaders are expected to return back commencing 12 noon. Last year the race was won by Philip Sanger of Epsom & Ewell Harriers in a record time of 1:20:25. The first lady was Katy Moore of Brighton & Hove City AC, also in a record time of 1:29:53. 11 other race records were broken by the various age categories; a record in itself. The oldest record yet to be broken is from 2003 when Ros Tabor of Dulwich Runners broke the lady Vet 4 (50-54)age category.

22 runners are returning as VIP’s to defend their titles and we are expecting a guest appearance of “Spiderman” who is celebrating running 39 consecutive races with us. Paramo are donating a water proof running jacket to the first male and lady seniors and vets.

Albert Kemp, chairman said “We are expecting a record attendance this year. We have a race permit for 700 runners and we are expected to have a full attendance for the first time, beating last year’s entry of 659 runners. The race has the support of the farmers at Little Pell Farm as well as sponsors including Ben Greig Motors, Nikwax, Paramo, Wadhurst and Crowborough Physio and Sports Injury Clinic, The Greyhound Public House, Green Penguin Entertainment (all of Wadhurst), Nice Work of Peasmarsh, Capers Swallows Oast, Ticehurst and Cotswold Outdoor of Tunbridge Wells. The race could not be a success without them” Kemp also said “The runners will be greeted by the Wadhurst Brass Band and well over 1,100 cakes lovingly made by the Waddies partners”.

For those thinking of entering Bewl 15 they are urged to apply soon before the race is full. The entry form is available from the Waddies website www.wadhurstrunners.co.uk or from or by telephoning Albert Kemp on 01580 200024.

7th June - Summer's here

2009-06-13T09:33:00.000Z

Track Session

The track session took place in cooler conditions last Thursday. There was a preponderance of ladies - the men clearly had other things on their minds. Well done to the ladies, Helen Goddard, Hannah, Katrina, Claire, Miriam and Sara for turning up. As for the men, it was just Albert and Peter last week.

Roger was away but had planned the session before he went. We had to do 3 sets of 400m and 800m, interspersed with a 400m recovery lap. Afterwards a few of us did the usual timed 400m. The results were:-

Peter 75.40 secs
Albert 89.77 secs
Miriam 110.16 secs.

Next Thursday's will be a little bit of a tester for those who have done the Worthing 10k the day before!

Race Results

It seems to have been a quiet weekend for the Waddies, though there have been some races quite close by, notably the Harvel 5 yesterday and the Seaford Half Marathon and Beckenham 10k road race, today.

A quick skim through the results shows that Wadhurst was not well represented.

Harvel 5

The Burkes went off to the Harvel 5. Here is Martin's result:-

527 0:49:56 BURKE, Martin Wadhurst Runners Male Veteran 50+ 09:59.0 370 527

Peter reports from the Seaford Half Marathon

As the race started at 9.00am I had to get up early when it was pouring with rain. I took road and trail shoes but was wearing my trail shoes in the car. By the time I arrived at Seaford there was glorious sunshine and the sea was deep blue with a fresh breeze. Most runners (including the eventual winner) were wearing road shoes. I didn't like the thought of one of the long inclines being slippery (which it was one year) or the 4 mile stretch along the Cuckmere being muddy, but I needn't have worried as the ground was hard and mainly dry. This is not the quickest half marathon around with 1000ft of ascents and descents and numerous stiles and kissing gates, but seems to be growing in popularity with 514 finishers this year. Mats Gedin won the race in 1:26:26. I was the sole Waddie (as far as I can see) and my result was:-

Position: 86 01:52:33 54 PETER BURFOOT

Future Races

Not raced before? Well, now is your chance! We've got the Heathfield 10k c SGP race on 28th June and there are plenty others. Have a look on Runners World or the Sussex Races Website for whatever takes your fancy. Wednesday evening sees the next SGP race, the Worthing 10k. This is a fast race and good times can be achieved.

31st May 2009 Waddies all over the world

2009-06-13T09:29:00.001Z

Stockholm Marathon

Congratulations to Mark Waring for achieving his best result yet in the Stockholm Marathon. In sunny weather Mark came 625th out of 13,718 runners with a time of 3:17:39.

The start of the race is near the Stockholm Olympic Stadium, the site of the 1912 Summer Games. The surroundings vary from the woods of the Royal Park Djurgården to the streets of a downtown area. The course passes buildings such as the Royal Palace, City Hall, the Royal Opera and the Houses of Parliament. Runners pass along waterways on much of the first half of the two-loops that comprise the course.

While passing the Västerbron bridge at about the nine and 31 kilometre marks, the runners view a city that provides a mix of present day buildings and those built in medieval times.

Here are the details of Mark's result:-

Details
Bib no 1580
Name Mark Waring
Born 72
Group Män
Team/Country Storbritannien
Nb of previous races 2 Click for previous results >

Position 625
Time 3.17.39
Gross time 3.18.07
Average pace 4.41/km

Distance Total time Lap time Pace Pos
5 km 0.22.33 22.33 4.30/km 946
10 km 0.46.04 23.31 4.42/km 1133
15 km 1.09.28 23.23 4.40/km 1106
20 km 1.32.33 23.04 4.36/km 1029
Half marathon 1.37.30 4.56 4.29/km 1011
25 km 1.55.20 17.50 4.34/km 930
30 km 2.18.55 23.35 4.43/km 867
35 km 2.42.40 23.45 4.45/km 731
40 km 3.06.54 24.13 4.50/km 633
Finish 3.17.39 10.44 4.53/km 625

Well done Mark - a fantastic result.

Tillingham Valley Races

Meanwhile on Saturday afternoon, 4 Waddies ventured to the tranquillity of the Tillingham Valley at Udimore for the first running of the Tillingham Valley Rockabilly Classic 5. This was very much a village affair to raise money for a local cause and it had a village fete atmosphere with marquee, BBQ and barrels of beer.

The tranquillity was duly shattered when the band, Lucky Strike, started to play, but the serenity of the picturesque valley remained undisturbed.

Impeccably organised by Martin and Cathy of Nice Work event organisers who are themselves members of Wadhurst Runners, there was a fun run and walk, a Grand National for dogs and owners, 2 children's races and the 5 mile Rockabilly Classic. This was a cross country course which negotiated fields, went up a steep hill, skirted hop and strawberry fields wound its way along a river bank then through some woods and some rather boggy terrain before finishing where it started. The Garmin measurement was 4.79 miles. It was a small entry of 48 runners many from Kent and Sussex Clubs and some locals. The Waddies scooped a number of the prizes. Lyn was 1st lady and 1st Female Vet 3, Peter was 1st Male Vet 4, was 4th overall (and also beat the 1st male Vet 3) and Albert was 1st Male Vet 5. The results:

Rockabilly Races 2009

5 Mile Race Results
Place Time Name Club
4 36.18 Peter Burfoot Wadhurst Runners MV4 118
9 38.44 Linda Hayes Wadhurst Runners FV3 133
11 39.30 Albert Kemp Wadhurst Runners MV5 120
29 47.12 Rebecca Gask Wadhurst Runners SF 121

Martin Hayes also ran in the Fun Run. Well done Martin:

Fun Run Results

Place Time Name Club Cat Number

4 20.14 Martin Hayes Wadhurst Runners MV4 314

Brussels 20km

On Sunday, Fergus Randolph competed in 30th running of the Brussels 20k with 24,999 other runners registered to run in this circumnavigation of the city.

Fergus' result:-

Number Lastname Firstname Time M/F Rank Rwa (*) Category Club Zip City
13283 RANDOLPH FERGUS 01:45:39 M 6513 25 - 60 1040 BRUSSEL (ETTERBEEK)

29th May - Bexhill 5K

2009-06-13T09:28:00.001Z

The first race in the Battle of Bexhill race series took place at Bexhill Seafront last Wednesday evening. The opening race of the series was the 5k and another 5k will take place on 25th July 2009 as part of the SGP series. These are followed in the autumn by a 10k and a half marathon.

The Battle of Bexhill is being waged so far as the 5ks are concerned on a different course to previous years. The race HQ is at Polegrove Park were there seemed to be more parking and generally fewer members of the general public around. The race start and finish were nearby on the seafront. The start and finish off West Parade are quite narrow and whilst this did not seem to cause a problem on Wednesday, it could be more congested at the SGP race.

The course runs in a westward direction and after about 500m veers inland away from the sea along South Cliff (the road which runners of the Hastings Marathon in December may recall brought them running to the sea in Bexhill). The course then drops left down a ramp to the Lower Promenade and runs by the sea in a south westerly direction - absolutely fine as long as the south westerly isn't blowing, but no such luck on Wednesday! after some distance the runners then turn back round a cone and run towards the runners behind them back along the lower promenade in the opposite direction. The course then turns left up a short uphill gradient back to South Cliff which rises uphill in the direction of the sea (as per the Hastings Marathon route). After the crest of the hill the runners turn right back to the Lower Promenade and do the loop again. After the second loop, the course continues along South Cliff to West Parade and sprint finish with a following wind.

On Wednesday, it was cold, cloudy, damp (but no longer raining) and windy, with an uninviting brown surf breaking in rows off the beach. The conditions were far from ideal but the Waddies put in a spirited performance. The results:

Adult 5K
Wed 27 May 2009
18 #37 Michael Pain Wadhurst Runners 19:16.00 MV44/2
33 #34 Peter Burfoot Wadhurst Runners 20:52.00 MSV56/2
43 #26 Linda Hayes Wadhurst Runners 21:42.00 FSV49/1
70 #41 Albert Kemp Wadhurst Runners 23:56.00 MSV62/3
131 #94 Martin Burke Wadhurst Runners 31:39.00 MSV53/8

Special congratulations go to Mike Pain and Lyn Hayes for winning their categories.

Thursday's Track Session

The session this week was well attended and after our warm-up, we did 8 x 400m interspersed with 200m recoveries. There was then a timed 400m lap session and the results were:-

Russell 59.64 secs
Ciaran 65.13 secs
Nick 73.32 secs
Hannah 74.87 secs
Peter 79.52 secs
Helen G 79.86 secs
Fergus 79.86 secs
Matt 83.10 secs
Albert 87.74 secs
Becky 87.97 secs
Fi 91.67 secs
Roger 99.41 secs
Miriam 111.17secs
Sara 129.47 secs

Well done to everybody and thanks to the junior Seabrooks and to Simon for their support. The benefits of the speedwork sessions are already being felt by the regular attenders.

26th May 2009 - Ton up for Wadhurst!!

2009-06-13T09:24:00.001Z

Jottings from Albert:

“Well we made it. 101 members and we are not even 10 years old until 25th August.

Wadhurst Runners have achieved the inconceivable with their membership reaching 100 runners. This has been achieved within less than 10 years where the membership base had dropped as low as 14. The membership has more than doubled from December 2007 when the club had 47 members. This is split between 95 first claim and 7 second claim members so their target of 100 first claim members is achievable.

The 100th member joined last week, being Mandy Bussey who lives in Staplehurst. Soon after she was joined by Katrina Newman, a resident of Wadhurst, to make the current membership 101. The recent influx flies against current trends especially as their female membership is almost 50%, whereas elsewhere the percentage is nearer 35% to 40%.

Albert Kemp, the chairman, said “this is a magnificent achievement for such a small club with only a large village as a catchment area and to have grown so significantly. When we were voted “Team of the Year 2008” by the readers of the Kent and Sussex Courier it increased our local profile which then aided recruitment, particularly as we are known as a friendly club”.

The club is affectionately known as the “Waddies” who have been active with road and cross country races.

25th May - reults from a very small country

2009-06-13T09:22:00.001Z

Captain Peter writes:

"I was so wrapped up in 2:09 Events and their Director Mike Gratton that I clean forgot what the equally famous Ron Hill and his alter ego with our friendly local Event Management Company, Nice Work was up to this weekend (...no excuses, I had been told on Wednesday last week). Anyway, the Burkes were living it up in Luxembourg (after the evening Half Marathon)....just 1 more Leffe Blond, I can hear Martin saying afterwards). Here are the results of the Luxembourg Half Marathon Night Run:

Results ING europe-marathon luxembourg 2009
Halbmarathon
2 Results | inofficial results
place Pl.AC number name club ac brutto netto
940 149 13009 » BURKE, Cathy (GBR)
Nice Work W45 02:30:34 02:24:12
2975 208 13008 » BURKE, Martin (GBR)
Nice Work M50 02:43:55 02:37:31

If anyone else has some results, please let Peter know. Quite apart from all his other duties, he keeps the Official Club Record of Performances for the year. This is used to record the all-important Standards Cup points for the race for the Standards Cup (awarded in 2008 to yours truly) and the information used to assess handicaps for the Summer and Winter Handicap races.

If anyone would like to know how they are doing in with Standards Cup points so far, along with details of their competitors, please ask Peter

Our thoughts during this week are with Mark Waring as he prepares to compete in the Stockholm Marathon next Saturday. Good luck Mark!

25th May 2009 - Bank Holiday News

2009-06-13T09:17:00.002Z

Flying Coach's Visit on 16th June
Dave Leach, our Flying Coach will pay us another visit on Tuesday 16th June 2009 at 7.15 pm at Uplands. He will do a session geared towards 5 -10k. We are hoping that this time the grass on the track will be shorter and the weather warmer.

Please turn up if you are interested in becoming a coach and also if you want to benefit from the coaching given. There will of course be a Club Run as usual for those who prefer.

Thursday Track Sessions

These are becoming really quite popular! Roger Smith is putting in a sterling effort to make these successful. Thank you Roger. Last Thursday he was assisted by Claire D'Aubney who has been running on the previous sessions but not competing in the timed laps. Thank you Claire.

Last Thursday we did a pyramid session with fast laps of 400m, 800m, 1200m, 800m and 400m interspersed with a slow 400m recovery lap. When everybody had had a chance to get their breath back we ran a timed 400m. The results were:-

Russell 62.09 secs
Mark 73.27 secs
Peter 75.83 secs
Shane 80.90 secs
Hannah 83.08 secs
Helen G 84.00 secs
Matt 85.83 secs
Albert 91.09 secs
Katrina 96.90 secs
Nell N 103.00 secs
Sara Faulty timekeeper/watch

Many are already finding their times are coming down.

The Sussex Grand Prix

There have been some problems with the SGP results.

Graham Chapman the SGP Chairman has written to all Club Reps in these terms:-

"Club Reps,

I'm sure it comes as no surprise that we've had one or two problems with results so far this year.

Without going into details, the outcome is that we need to assemble a small team to assist with the compilation of a reliable, efficient results service.

I'd be very grateful if you could circulate amongst your members the need for the following volunteers.

1. A person to keep the members database up-to-date. In theory, this should be simply be a case of obtaining updated member lists from clubs at the beginning of the year and ensuring they are kept up-to-date throughout the year as reps advise of changes.

In reality, there will be a bit of chasing up involved. A familiarity with MS Excel, a computer, and email will be needed.

2. Someone to request and obtain results from races as soon as they are run, and to process them so they are ready to be entered into the results system. Requirements, as above.

3. A person or persons, to devise and operate the results system (probably Excel based, although open to suggestions). Again, requirements, as above.

4. Someone to receive and deal with the enquiries after the publication of results (this could be included in the above).

Of course, some of these roles can be combined, but I stress this is not really the job for one person and a small group is preferable.

Although these positions are voluntary, there may be scope for incentives, possibly website sponsorship if appropriate, although this is yet to be discussed.

Anyone who thinks they can help out should contact me directly.

email: gc@grahamchapman.co.uk
work: 01435 860868
home: 01435 812829
mobile: 07967 658523

Thanks very much,

Graham Chapman
Chairman SGP"

Please think whether you have the time and skills to lend a hand.

Race Results

On Tuesday 19th May Barry Gilbert and Siobhan Burke competed in the 1st race of the Queen Mother Reservoir 5km/10km Race Series. They both ran the 5k and their results are:-

20 BURKE, Siobhan 0:25:47 Wadhurst Runners Senior Women 740
21 GILBERT, Barry 0:25:49 Wadhurst Runners MV60 741

Closer to home on a sunny and quite warm day, Peter Burfoot went over to Canterbury on Bank Holiday Sunday for his 1st running of the Canterbury Half Marathon. The race started at the Canterbury Rugby Club in Nackington Lane on the south side of the city.

Peter had brought a wad of Bewl 15 flyers to place on a table, but this was an opportunity not to be missed, a whole field full of hundreds of cars just inviting Bewl 15 flyers to be put under their wipers. Peter ran out of Flyers after just 1.5 rows, barely 1/4 of the field of just runners' cars. Some runners gulped down flyers determined to take them "back to the Club" (Plumsted) as there were "other members" who wanted them. Another group couldn't praise the Bewl 15 enough but thought we imported rain to wet the steep hill!

1983 London Marathon winner Mike Gratton's company 2:09 events organised the race for the Pilgrim's Hospices. Organisation was tip-top and Mike was there to run the show. He described the race thus:-
"The route is hilly, there is no doubting that, but runs through beautiful Garden of England scenery and typical Kent downland villages. 2:09 Events director won this race 3 times in the 80's and early 90's running 66mins around the route so it is not that slow and there are some long sweeping down hills to go with the climbs."
Well, 66 minutes was never on the cards and the winner finished in 76 minutes this year. By all accounts slow times were had by many and this was blamed on the "heat" - it wasn’t that hot!

The race is very rural and takes small country roads out of Canterbury to the Chartham Downs. There were some useful Kent runners to use as markers. The 1st 3 miles were uphill all the way and then the course dropped steeply to Petham before climbing again to Waltham. I had noticed a 1:7 gradient on the map shortly afterwards but needn't have worried as it was a downhill! At the 7 mile point on the flat I found some speed and started to overtake a few people then we looped back to Petham ready to take on the Big (Up)Hill. It was tough. Once at the top some more speed came and the runners pounded down the gentle gradients to Stuppington, then over the A2 and we were back at the start but with a long uphill track for the final 1/2 mile before finishing at the Rugby Club.

The organisers did us proud, chip timing (though there were computer problems on the day), bottled water, numerous drink stations, and at the finish, a medal, oranges and a real old-fashioned "Goodie Bag" complete with a For Goodness Shake, gel, muesli bar, and energy drink powder. A thoroughly enjoyable, if rather warm race. There were 777 finishers.

The results:-

133 133 362 PETER BURFOOT
Mvet50 WADHURST RUNNERS 01:43:41

Forthcoming Races

Don't forget the Bexhill 5k and Children's races on Wednesday 27th May. There is a new course this year see the Bexhill Runners' website for details; http://www.bexhillrunners.co.uk/uploads/5k_map_course.pdf . The July race is part of the SGP series so those who can are encouraged to race on Wednesday to get used to the new course

The Tillingham Valley Rockabilly Races.

These races near Rye are new for this year and take place on Saturday 30th May from 4.00pm. There are races for fun runners, dogs, and children, as well as a 5 mile Cross Country race. Entry is on-line at Runners world or on the day as the postal closing date has passed. Details are to be found at: http://sussexraces.tripod.com/EntryForms2009/2009Udimore.doc

Don't forget the Worthing 10k SGP race on Wednesday 10th June. Entry forms can be found at: http://www.worthingharriers.com/uploadforms/1241695805-10k-Entry-Form-2009.doc . Please note the Closing date for postal entries is 3rd June 2009.

Also in June is the Heathfield 10k SGP race on 28th June. The entry form is at:- http://www.heathfieldroadrunners.com/RaceForms/RaceForm2009FB.pdf .

19th May 2009 - The Burkes on tour - again!

2009-06-13T09:15:00.003Z

More news from Peasmarsh and after their Shinfield 10k adventure the Burkes have been tasting the green pastures of Knole Park, Sevenoaks and getting among the stags. While Waddies raced in Horsham, the Burkes were at the Sevenoaks Seven. It is easy to see why Martin was attracted as it is advertised as a surefire pb, simply because there are other 7 mile races around! Cathy was the sole representative of Hastings AC and finished in 72:20. Here is Martin's result:-

392 81'35 MARTIN BURKE 125 48 M 53 WADHURST RUNNERS

Needing an antidote for the green pastures of Knole Park, the Burkes then upped sticks to France for the ramparts of Montreuil.

This 10k race, which includes running on pave, has been increasing in poularity every year.

Liam Burke was 3rd in the junior race and Martin ran the 10k in 1:04:51.

This weekend the Burkes are off to Luxembourg for the Night Run.

Worthing 10k Reminder

Those intending to enter the next SGP race on Wednesday evening 10th June 2009 at Worthing are advised to apply now. Entry forms are to be found on the Worthing Harriers Website.

Waddies are encouraged to apply for entry now of this popular race in which fast times and pbs are possible. Runners are chip-timed. There is normally a good turnout from Wadhurst. Traditionally members meet afterwards for a fish and chip supper at The Fish Factory, nearby.

Dave Leach Flying Coach Session

Prospective coaches and members enjoyed an interesting coaching session from Flying Coach Dave Leach. Dave explained that the coach is looking to maximise an individual's potential and demonstrated how a typical coaching session is structured. Dave suggested a typical training week for distance runners and demonstrated dynamic exercises and running specific drills which are designed to prepare the body for running and improve speed enhance performance and minimise the risk of injury. We all learnt things we didn't know before and practiced the exercises and drills.

Dave plans to return in a few weeks on a date to be announced to conduct an actual track session which will involve more running as much of this session concentrated on the theory rather the practical.

17th May 2009 - having a lark

2009-06-13T09:12:00.000Z

Larkfield 10k

On a rather cool, blustery and showery day, 3 Waddies ventured today to Larkfield near Maidstone for the annual Larkfield 10k.

There was another course change this year, for the better - the very steep narrow path just before the finish which various members will recall was the hallmark of last year's race wasn't included. Instead the finish, though still shortly after quite a long medium-gradient hill, was immediately preceded by a fast downhill sprint on grass at the back of the Leisure Centre.

The starter was obligingly announcing various forthcoming fixtures over his megaphone so we asked him to do a plug for the Bewl 15, which he did ,and then we were off. After a short tour of an industrial estate the course entered Leybourne Lakes Country Park just as the rain started and followed the eastern shore through to Snodland, where there was a slight incline over a road bridge before returning to the country park, but not before a spiral road footbridge had been negotiated. By this time the shower had passed and the runners faced the force of the headwind as they wound their way along the stony path on the western southern and eastern shores of the lake before exiting the park. By this time, it had started raining again, more heavily this time. The police manned the roundabouts giving priority to the runners and causing traffic mayhem and at the 9km marker the runners started the climb towards the finish. Cakes and fruit were sheltered from the heavy rain by a small gazebo and most runners got drenched. There were 412 finishers.

The general opinion was that it was enjoyable race but somewhere the time slipped away.

The results:

33 40:08 PAIN, Michael Wadhurst Runners Male Vet 40 95
91 43:59 BURFOOT, Peter Wadhurst Runners Male Vet 50 461
209 49:07 PAIN, Andy Wadhurst Runners Male Vet 40 96

Well done!

Oxford Town and Gown 10k

Meanwhile, Oxford saw the 28th running of the Oxford Town and Gown 10k. This is actually a large fund-raising event for Muscular Dystrophy and attracts serious runners and fun runners alike. As in Larkfield there was rain, but in Oxford it was at the start. With his local knowledge, Waddie David Burfoot went straight to the start line, avoiding a long queue of most of the 2649 other runners stretching back to the Parks.

David's best-laid training plan had been thwarted by an infection in his leg and he was on his second week of antibiotics - but at least he was well rested. He decided on a 42 minute target...but had left his watch in Ticehurst (he thinks) so how do you do the timing? Easy, says David, you just programme 10 x 4 min 12 sec tracks into your i-River and all you have to do then is listen and watch out for the km markers! The result appears below!

Pos Bib Time Name Club Gender Gender Class Class Chip Chip
Pos Pos Time Pos
185 2638 00:42:02 DAVID BURFOOT WADHURST RUNNERS Male 175 M 117 00:42:00 193

Well done David!

14th May 2009 - Horsham 10K

2009-06-13T09:09:00.001Z

Congratulations to the 16 Waddies who competed at Horsham last Sunday. Many thanks to the supporters too. The conditions were just about ideal. It was quite cool in the shade and not too hot in the sun.

There were some excellent performances and achievements. The results have been now been published and are:-

Children's Race

33 0:08:10 SEABROOK, Edward Wadhurst Runners 635 33
64 0:11:58 SEABROOK, Pippa Wadhurst Runners 636 64
65 0:12:10 SEABROOK, Lucy Wadhurst Runners 634 65

Horsham 10k

72 0:43:45 BURFOOT, Peter Wadhurst Runners MV55 202 72
73 0:43:48 GODDARD, Helen Wadhurst Runners FV35 177 73
90 0:44:45 LAST, Shane Wadhurst Runners MV40 244 90
98 0:45:22 CASSE, Mark Wadhurst Runners 169 98
112 0:46:07 JONES, David Wadhurst Runners MV55 276 112
120 0:46:32 RANDOLPH, Fergus Wadhurst Runners MV45 235 120
167 0:48:54 KEMP, Albert Wadhurst Runners MV60 155 167
181 0:49:59 NEARY, Helen Wadhurst Runners FV55 40 181
204 0:50:59 GATES, Anthony Wadhurst Runners MV50 200 204
291 0:58:08 BACKHOUSE, Bonita Wadhurst Runners FV40 365 291
296 0:58:30 GATES, Kathie Wadhurst Runners 201 296
308 0:59:35 PETKOVIC, Charlotte Wadhurst Runners 316 308
375 1:10:36 WRENN, Sara Wadhurst Runners FV50 274 375

Thursday Track Session

Roger made it harder for us tonight! The session consisted of:-

Warm up

8 x 400m fast laps with 200m recoveries.

At the end there was a timed fast lap for those who wished to compete. The results were:

Neil Thomas 69.57 secs
Peter Burfoot 74.87 secs
Shane Last 80.58 secs
Hannah Bates 83.09 secs
Albert Kemp 98.41 secs
Helen Neary 106.09 secs
Sara Wrenn 130.72 secs

Flying Coach Session

David Leach a flying coach from Lewes will conduct a flying coach session at 7.15 on Tuesday 19th May at Uplands Grass Track. Roger, Albert, Lynn Cathy, Shane and Matt have all expressed an interest in considering becoming coaches and the object of the session will be to encourage them. In the process they will be directed to conduct a session of coaching for the Club Members who wish to be coached.

David Leach is Sussex's endurance coach and himself a good road and marathon runner.

All members willing to be coached are invited to attend the session. For others there will be a Club Run as usual.

7th May 2009 - Around the country with Waddies

2009-06-13T09:04:00.001Z

Derek Harrison, running on this occasion for Tunbridge Wells Harriers, reports from the 3 Forts Marathon (a week after completing the London Marathon:

"Just to let you know that the 3 Forts Marathon was fantastic. South Downs, 3500ft ascent and descent, all off road, sunny, warm. I covered the 27 and a bit miles in 4.18 – and with about 34750 fewer runners than the FLM!"

Another report from members of the Burke family on the Reading Roadrunners Shinfield 10k. Cathy Burke (running on this occasion for Hastings AC) writes:

"Just to let you know that we travelled to Reading on Monday to take part in a race close to where Siobhan is at University. The Shinfield 10k. A pleasant run, weather was ideal with just a few spots of rain but there was little wind and not hot. In fact it was positively chilly at the end. The results are not yet out but when they do appear they will be inaccurate. The finish went into a very long funnel and consequently people were moving up the field after their time had been recorded. Numbers were being taken at the end of the funnel by which time several runners were no longer in their finishing positions. I did around 56 minutes and the person immediately behind me had crossed the line in an hour and 1 minute.

Siobhan finished in 53 minutes 10 seconds knocking 6 and a half minutes off her previous best time and Martin finished in just over the hour.

We had also planned to run a 5 mile race in the evening with Barry Gilbert - he had been unable to run Shinfield because he was working. However the chilly weather and drive home put us off but I know Barry ran so will let you know his result when I hear from him."

Meanwhile Martin Burke (alias Ron Hill's Alter Ego) reports:

"Waddies went on missionary duty yesterday.

To Barry-country for the Shinfield 10K near Reading. I wobbled round - my first 10K in almost a year so I took it very easy (1.03). Siobhan got a pb by some 6 minutes and turned in a 53 minute time. Time at this stage are vague and could well remain so. There were 500-600 runners but a 400 yard queue at the finish for the timekeepers to record numbers. The weather by then was cold and I have no confidence that the results or finishing positions will be accurate.

Cathy did around 56 minutes but had people in front of her in the funnel who had done 1 hour plus!"

Many Congratulations to Siobhan for beating her pb by some 6 minutes! I am pleased to report that Cathy's time was in fact correctly recorded in the results.

The Shinfield 10k Wadhurst Runners results:

366 352 SIOBHAN BURKE WADHURST RUNNERS F 53:13
521 351 MARTIN BURKE WADHURST RUNNERS MV50 1:03:28

Please do find the time to read Ron Hills Alter Ego Blog (as it is very funny) at .

Thursday evening Track Sessions

These sessions which take place on Thursdays at 7.30 pm at the Uplands grass track under the direction of Roger Smith are proving increasingly popular. Speedwork is acknowledged to be a key ingredient in improving runners' performances. This week the 3rd session took place and 10 members took part. Of those, 8 competed in a timed 400m lap, having warmed up, run 2 x 400m, 1 x 800m and 2 x 400m fast laps interspersed in each case with a 400m recovery lap.

The results of the timed final 400m lap in a windy session were as follows:

1. Russell Carr 62.98 secs
2. Neil Walbridge 73.77 secs
3. Mark Casse 75.96 secs
4. Peter Burfoot 79.28 secs
5. Shane Last 81.87 secs
6. Albert Kemp 94.85 secs
7. Nichola Carr 97.37 secs
8. Sara Wrenn 128.06 secs

Well done to Russell, and David Burfoot is not expected to return to Ticehurst in time before the close of track sessions in July to challenge Russell at this distance.

Members are encouraged to turn up at these track sessions, which are great fun whatever your ability as there are only limited weeks in the year when they can take place. The track is not marked out until April and by the end of July the markings start to fade and the grass is allowed to grow longer.

Summer Handicap Race

The summer handicap race this year will take place on Sunday 12th July. Please put 12th July in your diary for this all-member Club Event. The male and female winners of the Summer and Winter Handicap races win the Handicap Cups.

4th May 2009 - More news than you can shake a stick at

2009-06-13T08:58:00.002Z

SGP Results

The provisional SGP Results for the 1st 4 races (Sussex Beacon, Eastbourne Half, Hastings Half and Worthing 20, are now up on the new Sussex Grand Prix website http://www.sussexgrandprix.co.uk/results.php

Graham Chapman, the SGP Chairman is at pains to point out;

"You'll see that they are provisional results only and need a bit more work before they are finalised.

In particular, the vet cats are not shown, and there's also a small number of duplicated runners on the list.

Thanks for your patience, it's taken a while and quite a lot of work to assemble a new database of competing runners (thanks to Nick Apps for this).

As the season progresses, the results will be smartened up.

Feel free to circulate to your members.

Any comments, then please let me know, but please don't raise any individual queries yet unless there are any runners actually missing from the results.

I'll keep you posted with developments, and remember that once the results have been rehashed there will be a 3 week period to raise queries."

We are aware that the results are not quite right yet, and have noted some of our runners' omissions from some races, eg Tony Gates and Michael Macay/Mackay. I will raise these individual queries when the results have been rehashed, but if you could please let me know any errors affecting you as individuals, please let me know and I will note them all.

Bluebell Run

10 Waddies had a very enjoyable time on Sunday at the annual Bluebell Run over to Hawkden Wood, Mayfield. The bluebells were magnificent this year. It was a sight to behold. Nobody opted for the longer version of the run. The annual awards dinner the previous night may have been a factor. Ably led by Roger Smith there were no excuses for getting lost this year, though Albert did try to ignore the 1st crucial right turn. Unusually for a club run (but no doubt as a result of the getting lost experiences in previous years) the mixed ability group kept together and completed the run in about 90 minutes. It was not nearly as muddy as last year. Thank you Roger and Shane for transporting the group to Tidebrook and back.

Race Results

Peter Burfoot took part in the Nissan Bailey's Whitstable 10K. A regular May Day Bank Holiday fixture, the race this year was oversubscribed by 100 runners whose entries could not be accepted due to the race limit of 650. The race starts on the low cliffs to the east of Whitstable and the course wends its way eastwards for 5k, slightly away from the seafront through a caravan park and residential area and along a grassy stretch of cliff. At the halfway point the route joins the promenade and runners were greeted by a noticeable wind ahead but slightly side on. Performances generally seemed down on last year when the runners had a tail wind in 2nd half but were roasting. There were no heat problems this year. 570 finished the race. The results:-

Pos No. Name Age Club Time Age Grading %
70 466 Peter Burfoot 56 Wadhurst Runners 43:11 73.14

Flying Coaches

2 male members and 1 female have expressed an interest in learning to become coaches. I have notified Elspeth Turner of UK Athletics for some suggested dates for a Tuesday Flying Coach session. The priority will be to fix a date convenient to the Flying and Prospective Coaches, but members who wish to be coached on the day will be notified.

Race details

Please note that the date for the Wednesday evening Worthing "Fish and Chips" 10k SGP race this year is Wednesday 10th June (not 3rd June as previously notified). You don't get fish and chips in your Goodie Bag, but traditionally members have gone for a fish and chip supper afterwards (there is other food on the menu). Early entry is advised to this race as it fills up quickly. There is no on-line entry, but forms are downloadable at Worthing Harriers' website:

Other weekday evening summer races include the Bexhill "Battle of Bexhill" series which starts on 27th May and the Rye Classic Summer series which starts on Friday 24th July.

Nice Work are organising the inaugural Tillingham Valley Rockabilly 5 mile Cross Country race on Saturday evening 30th May. Details of all these events can be found on the Sussex Races website: http://sussexraces.tripod.com/sussexraceseventplanner.html

The Horsham 10k

This Sunday is the Horsham 10k SGP race. Those wishing to car share should meet at Uplands Car Park at 8.30 am.

27th April 2009 - Grim up North

2009-06-13T08:56:00.000Z

Congratulations to new member Jessica Howitt for her performance in the Sheffield Half Marathon at the weekend.

Jessica's result was:-

2204 Jessica Howitt F/171 Unat. 1:54.58

27th April 2009 - London results now in!

2009-06-13T08:55:00.001Z

Our hearty congratulations to the squad of 10 Wadhurst Runners who completed the Flora London Marathon earlier today.

Each will have his or her own tale to tell but the results include some magnificent personal achievements and many good for age times guaranteeing entry in future years. You will see the overall position for each gender in the table below, followed by the each runner's position in their age group per gender.

If you want to study the splits go to the London Marathon results page http://results-2009.london-marathon.co.uk/.

You can also compare the results of one runner against another on a pace graph.

Flora London Marathon 2009 Results

position pl.age no. name age club time
1941 433 31586 » PAIN, MICHAEL W (GBR) M40 WADHURST RUNNERS 3:14:16
2075 321 44205 » WHITE, MYLES (GBR) M45 Wadhurst Runners 3:15:38
2626 411 3290 » WATTENBACH, EDDIE J (GBR) M45 Wadhurst Runners 3:21:26
531 329 31985 » HALL, CATHY A (GBR) W18 WADHURST RUNNERS 3:30:38
5492 1131 26413 » LAST, SHANE W (GBR) M40 WADHURST RUNNERS 3:43:17
8213 4511 21738 » BOWYER, SIMON W (GBR) M18 3:58:10

1987 47 30101 » NEARY, HELEN P GBR) W55 WADHURST RUNNERS 4:02:09
5996 1040 21296 » WHITE, JO-ANNE (GBR) W40 WADHURST RUNNERS 4:53:06
7616 417 36047 » DRAKE, JANET F (GBR) W50 5:13:59
8574 5424 49989 » PETKOVIC, CHARLOTTE J (GBR) W18 Wadhurst Runners 5:30:29

26th April 2009 - It must be spring!!

2009-06-13T08:54:00.000Z

Roger has confirmed that this year's Club Bluebell Run will take place on Sunday 3rd May 2009.

Runners should meet at Uplands Sports Centre at 9.00 am.

The run takes us through the heavily-scented bluebell woods between Wadhurst and Mayfield. One run of 10 to 12 miles starts from Uplands. The other of about 6 miles starts from the lay-by on the east side of the road down the hill from Tidebrook Church after driving to the lay-by.

It is often muddy and off-road shoes are advised. Some runners may wish to carry water, particularly those suffering from dehydration following the previous night's Awards Dinner.

On previous occasions Albert's navigational skills have suffered from a whirlpool effect.

See you on 3rd May.

25th April 2009 Heathfield news

2009-06-13T08:52:00.000Z

If you had intended entering the Heathfield 10k SGP race on 28th June 2009, you need to get your skates on!

It was reported at the Sussex Athletics Executive Committee Meeting last night that there are only a very few places left. This is because the race is part of the 10k Challenge being staged by Sussex Athletics, which has made the race very popular and there is quite a low race entry limit.

An entry form can be downloaded from:

http://www.heathfieldroadrunners.com/RaceForms/Race_Form_2009FB.pdf

Obviously we would hope that Wadhurst Runners will field as large and strong a team as possible, so please send off your entries now.

22nd April 2009 - Record growth for Waddies!!

2009-06-13T08:51:00.000Z

The Waddies announce that they have achieved stunning growth in membership and have reached the dizzy heights of 94 members, which has exactly doubled the membership since December 2007. They are looking for the magic 100 so they invite runners in the Wadhurst District, of any ability, to join the thriving club. Training is given for those new into the sport.

Contact Albert Kemp, Chairman, by telephone 01580 200024 or email albert@barnfieldkemp.demon.co.uk if you are interested”.

21st April - Mais Oui Monsieur. Albert goes to Paris

2009-06-13T08:49:00.001Z

Albert Kemp, chairman of Wadhurst Runners, completed his 25th marathon at the recent 33rd marathon de Paris, France.

The race was run with ideal conditions with a light breeze and a friendly 15 deg C. The race was as popular as ever with 35,000 entrants. Kemp finished in a respectable time of 3:38:09 in 83rd placed Vet (age 60+) and overall 6,591st place.

Kemp said “why did I choose Paris for my momentous quarter century of marathons. The answer is simple. I would have preferred to run the Flora London Marathon but am unable to win a place on the ballot. I failed to qualify for the “Good for Age” entry as at my age it is difficult to break 3:30. The Paris marathon is a tough race as it is very competitive with much jostling, bumping and grinding by the runners. Coupled with poor organisation, such as bringing the race to a halt at the ½ way stage because of too many runners and the drinks station being placed in inconvenient places which causes congestion contributed to greater finishing times”. ”.

Elsewhere the Waddies had many runners at various races. Peter Burfoot ran the Rotterdam marathon despite running only 8 weeks after abdominal surgery and troubled on the day by a streaming head cold. He still achieved a respectable result, in a time of 3:40:30 and finished in 1,905 place out of 6,443 finishers under a clear blue sky and conditions similar to the Paris event.

21st April 2009 - Chairman's Scribbles

2009-06-13T08:45:00.002Z

Wadhurst Runners had a record attendance of 28 members at any running race in their young history when they competed in the 25th Hastings Half Marathon.

In addition, 4 Waddie juniors ran in the 1 mile mini race with Liam Burke being the first Wadhurst Runner in 64th place with a time of 8:38. The 1st Waddie girl was Hayley Mackay 81st 8:54, Ben Gilbert finished 90th in 9.05 and Amy Mackay was just behind in 93rd 9.08.

The club had some notable successes in the strongly contested field of 3827 finishers who ran on a beautiful sunny early Spring day with a light, cooling breeze. Some runners found it a tad warm but most were grateful for the an absence of the strong westerly wind which has been a feature previously. As ever it was especially pleasing for the runners to see so many supporters lining the course.

The Waddies managed to have 6 official teams placed with the ladies gaining their highest ever rank of 11th and the best men’s team managed to improve on this with a 10th place, to create another club record for this event.

The notable individual successes were Russell Carr who finished 37th overall and was 23rd senior (18 to 39) and Nell Neary who was the 3rd lady vet 5 (55 to 59). The team results were:

Ladies Team Results

11th Team:
67th 1:39:38 Cathy HALL Ladies (18-39), 80th 1:41:48 Lyn HAYES, Women (45-49) , 145th 1:49:29 Helen NEARY, Women (55-59) and 220th 1:53:58 Melinda MACKAY, Women (45-49).

48th Team
543th 2:10:34 Rebecca GASK, Ladies (18-39), 602th 2:12:59 Charlotte PETKOVIC, Ladies (18-39), 658th 2:16:04 Kathie GATES, Ladies (18-39), 993th 2:41:19 and Sara WRENN, Women (45-49).

Men’s Team Results

10th team:
37th 1:19:34 Russell CARR, Men (18-39, 96th 1:25:57 Mark WARING, Men (18-39),114th 1:27:20 Michael MACKAY, Men (45-49) and 141st 1:28:29 Michael PAIN, Men (40-44) 3908 150

28th Team
172nd 1:29:57 Ciaran OSBORN, Men (18-39), 265th 1:33:23 Ed McKINNEY, Men (18-39), 303rd 1:34:44 Simon BOWYER, Men (18-39) and 327th 1:35:26 Eddie WATTENBACH, Men (45-49).

45th Team

493rd 1:39:27 Peter BURFOOT, Men (55-59), 564th 1:41:29 Shane LAST, Men (40-44), 609th 1:42:37 Nick BROOKER, Nick Men (45-49) and 682nd 1:43:59 David JONES, Men (55-59).

91st Team

686th 1:44:07 Albert KEMP, Men (60-64), 1335th 1:56:40 Fergus RANDOLPH, Men (45-49), 1578th 2:01:08 Alistair HOWITT, Men (50-54) and 1768th 2:05:20 John BILLINGHAM, Men (40-44).

The other individual results were:-
610th 1:40:51 Neil Walbridge, Men (18-39), 2494th 2:10:19 Anthony GATES, Men (50-54), 3312nd 2:29:55 Wansze NG, Ladies (18-34) and 3588th 2:49:43 Martin BURKE, Men (50-54).

Elsewhere, in the Bury Nearly 10 mile race (9 miles 703 yards) Janet DRAKE, ladies (50-54) was 203rd 1:40:23 “

15th April 2009 - Easter results and news

2009-06-13T08:40:00.001Z

Congratulations to the Waddie Men's Team in securing 16th Team place out of 36 at the 26th Folkestone 10 mile race on Good Friday. The men's team consisted of Mike Pain, Michael Mackay, Peter Burfoot and Andy Pain. Andy achieved a pb.

Although there were insufficient Ladies to make up a team, the sole Waddie Lady finisher, Siobhan Burke, put in a magnificent performance. Well done Siobhan!

Our commiserations go to Melinda Mackay, who was unable to finish, having pulled out of the race.

The race was run in good dry calm conditions though it was rather warm. runners were spared the driving hail squalls, heatwave, and seas breaking over the course of the last 3 years!

This is a good final build up race for the London Marathon and many runners are in peak form, so the competition can be stiff. The race starts on the Green at Hythe and it is a fast flat course, mainly along the seafront to Folkestone and back. Runners were well supported by the Pain, Mackay and Burke families. Regrettably, this year, there were no supporting children's races. The results:-

42 1:05:36 PAIN, Michael Wadhurst Runners M44 72.10% 364 42
60 1:07:38 MACKAY, Michael Wadhurst Runners M46 70.97% 455 60
136 1:13:44 BURFOOT, Peter Wadhurst Runners M56 70.61% 109 136
271 1:23:01 PAIN, Andy Wadhurst Runners M40 55.35% 363 271

377 1:30:48 BURKE, Siobhan Wadhurst Runners F18 54.39% 266 377

Hastings 5 Mile Race

Remember that this coming Sunday sees the resumption of the SGP series with the Hastings 5 mile race, again with many London Marathon entrants in peak condition. Let's try and beat our record entry which was at the Hastings Half Marathon for this seafront event! Support preferably with Digital Camera at the ready for team and individual photos is welcomed.

London Marathon

While on the subject of the London Marathon, remember that General Ballot entries for the 2010 edition open at 9.00am on Monday 27th April. You need to be among the first 120,000 applicants to have a chance of obtaining a place in the General Ballot. Only those members who have been rejected in the General Ballot are eligible to be included in the ballot for any Club Places providing they also satisfy the Club's other criteria for inclusion. If you do not manage to participate in the General Ballot, because you are not among the first 120,000 entrants and you do not receive a rejection letter, you cannot be included in the ballot for Club places, even if you satisfy the Club's other criteria.

Best of luck to those members with places in the London Marathon 2009 which takes place on 26th April. They would welcome any support you can give. Some are looking for sponsorship for charitable causes.

Coaching

If anyone is interested in me trying to secure visits by the Flying Coaches operated by Sussex Athletics, please let me know by 8.00pm on Thursday 23rd April as I have a Sussex Athletics Committee Meeting the following day when I should be able to make enquiries of Elspeth Turner who makes the arrangements. If there is sufficient support, I will investigate the possibility of securing the services of Flying Coaches on one or more Tuesday evening or Sunday morning in the summer months. If they are not available at these times I will find out when they are available.

Bewl 15 Ballot

Please remember that the deadline for putting yourself forward for the Bewl 15 ballot expires on Friday 24th April. Please ensure I have your name if you want to be included as success in this ballot is the only opportunity club members will get to run the Bewl 15 2009, providing they can supply a non-member to carry out their marshalling duties. All club members can expect to be assigned marshalling duties even if they were not members or had no duties last year.

The ballot is open to members of all abilities. the ballot will be drawn at the Awards Dinner on 2nd May.

So far the names we have are:

Ladies:

Lynn Hayes
Kathie Gates
Helen Goddard

Men:

Peter Burfoot
Ciaran Osborn
Russell Carr
Eddie Wattenbach
Mark Casse
Mark Waring
Mike Pain
Mat Seabrook.

7th April 2009 - Paddock Wood

2009-06-13T08:38:00.000Z

The Paddock Wood Half Marathon took place on 5th April.

This can be a deceptive race. Although the course is basically flat, there are a few inclines particularly in the first couple of miles along with some railway bridges. However the course actually runs downhill until Laddingford, shortly before the 9 mile point, before it starts to return to Paddock Wood, so the last 4 miles or so is slightly uphill and often against the wind.

Congratulations to the 2 Waddie finishers who both finished in the top 400 out of a field of 1942. Lynn's time was particularly pleasing to her as it was her best ever. Well done, Lynn!

The results:-

167 1:29:17 MACKAY, Michael Wadhurst Runners Vet Men (40-49) 1:29:16 1832 167
399 1:37:23 HAYES, Linda Wadhurst Runners Vet Ladies (45-54) 1:37:22 233 399

7th April 2009 - A long, long way for some!!

2009-06-13T08:33:00.003Z

Sorry for the delay in sending this weekend's race.

Waddies were in action at home and abroad last weekend with the Worthing 20 mile SGP race, the Paddock Wood Half Marathon and the Paris and Rotterdam Marathons.

Congratulations to all the Waddie finishers in those races.

The Worthing 20 mile race

In light winds, sunny weather and rising temperatures 6 Waddies ran the Worthing 20 mile race. this is a race of 4 laps and the results, below, indicate the chip lap times as well as the overall results.

GunPos Bib Name Gender Cat Club GunTime ChipPos ChipTime Lap 1 Lap 2 Lap3 33 390 Michael Pain M 40 Wadhurst Runners 02:19:11 33 02:19:08 00:36:09 01:10:05 01:44:14
65 417 Derek Harrison M 50 Wadhurst Runners 02:26:52 66 02:26:46 00:37:07 01:12:29 01:48:44
183 237 Shane Last M 40 Wadhurst Runners 02:51:06 187 02:50:48 00:46:32 01:26:11 02:10:42
191 189 Helen Neary F 55 Wadhurst Runners 02:52:47 194 02:52:15 00:43:20 01:24:09 02:06:49
345 202 Anthony Gates M 50 Wadhurst Runners 03:27:23 346 03:27:04 00:51:35 01:43:14 02:38:32
381 201 Kathie Gates F Wadhurst Runners 03:45:09 380 03:44:49 00:51:35 01:43:14 02:38:33

The Paris Marathon

Meanwhile, Chairman Albert was running in the Paris Marathon. I was hoping to catch up with Albert at Circuit Training tonight, but he wasn't there so I can only report on his result. No doubt Albert was hustled and jostled in true Gallic style as is customary and will circulate a graphic account shortly. Albert's result was:-

person
name KEMP, Albert (UNITED KINGDOM)
number 19470
class VH3 (1949 - 1940)
split time
5 km 00:24:22
10 km 00:49:04
15 km 01:14:11
21.1 km 01:44:43
25 km 02:04:24
30 km 02:30:37
35 km 02:56:54
total
place (M/W) 6591
place (brutto) 6869
place (net) 7414
place (ag) 83
time total (netto) 03:38:09
time total (brutto) 03:39:13

Well done, Albert.

The Rotterdam Marathon

While Albert was well en route in Paris, the Rotterdam Marathon started at 11.00am with a canon being fired at the Start outside the Town Hall. Peter Burfoot was the sole Waddie representative. After a cold cloudy day on Saturday, the fog lifted early on Sunday morning and there was clear blue sky and temperatures which rose to an official maximum of 14.8C, nothing like the 27.1C encountered in 2007 when he last ran the race. There was a light untroubling breeze and the flat fast course had been reconfigured to make it faster, by trying to avoiding prevailing headwinds. This year Kenyan Duncan Kibet broke the course record with a fantastic time of 2:04:27 just 34 seconds off the world record. Perhaps we have a future Haile in the making?

Peter, still only 8 weeks after abdominal surgery and troubled on the day by a streaming head cold could not match Duncan’s performance but achieved a respectable result, all things considered.

Although the number of individual marathon finishers is not very high at Rotterdam, there are marathon relays taking place as well as a 10k at the same time so the course is much busier than the number of finishers suggests. The city really comes alive for the event and while much of the race is run on dual carriageways in the suburbs where support can be sparse, a number of sections of the race are very well supported and there are numerous places where there are bands and music is played. Supporters can view the runners in a number of places on the figure of 8 course, by using the underground system. Rotterdam does itself proud with this event....though I did see 2 runners collide with a bicycle which a lady was pushing while crossing the course.

Peter's result:-

Bib number 11221

Name Peter Burfoot
City Ticehurst, Wadhurst
Distance Fortis Marathon Rotterdam
Category M55
Overall place 1905 / 6443
Category place 81 / 377
Speed 11,482 Km/Hour
Gross time 3:41:38
Net time 3:40:30
Net split times (difference)
5 Kilometer 23:40 (23:40)
10 Kilometer 46:59 (23:19)
15 Kilometer 1:10:22 (23:23)
20 Kilometer 1:34:33 (24:11)
Half marathon 1:40:20
25 Kilometer 2:00:41 (26:08)
30 Kilometer 2:28:02 (27:21)
35 Kilometer 2:56:43 (28:41)
40 Kilometer 3:27:30 (30:47)

The next SGP race is the Hastings 5 mile race on the 19th April.

Those wishing to enter the London Marathon 2010 should be aware that on-line entry is reported to be due to go live at 9.00am on Monday 27th April, so those members who want to apply when it opens and who don't have internet access at work had better start to arrange their annual leave for that day!

23rd March 2009 More race results

2009-06-13T08:28:00.001Z

Congratulations to Tony Gates and Peter Burfoot who took on a new race, the A20 Pathway 17.3 mile. This started at the old Great Danes Hotel, now the Ramada Maidstone, near Leeds Castle. It was a rolling Chip start with runners being despatched in waves on account of the narrowness of the pathway beside the A20 used for this race. The rolling start worked well and it was fun overtaking the some of the slower runners who started earlier. The race weaved its undulating way to Harrietsham and beside the A20 for nearly 6 miles before turning left near Lenham and climbing up the North Downs along a minor road. Once at the top it was quite flat and fast, though at the 8 mile point Tony was afflicted by cramp. Just before 9 miles the race descended the North Downs steeply close to Charing and hit the A20 again, this time westbound and against the noticeable breeze. The return back to the Great Danes was a bit of a slog, but the general view on Runners World was that the runners enjoyed the race for marathon training purposes. It was a lovely sunny morning, neither too hot nor too cold. There were 344 finishers.

The results:-

73 364 PETER BURFOOT M-MSV WADHURST RUNNERS 02:16:45

315 342 ANTHONY GATES M-MSV WADHURST RUNNERS 03:10:51

Some weeks back on 1st March, while the Waddies were grappling with the Eastbourne Half Marathon, Martin Burke was running in Belgium in the Annual Ostend to Bruges race. Martins' result was:-

Martin Burke GBR Wadhurst Runners 1.48.44 1.50.12

...And a little closer to home, on 18th March, Janet Drake was in racing action again in Norfolk in the Broadland Half Marathon. It was a very picturesque undulating route> Unfortunately groin and stomach cramps problem affected Janet's performance. Janet's result was:-
Place Time Name Affiliate Category Number
277 2:21:46 DRAKE, Janet Wadhurst Runners Ladies 45-54 315
Those in Marathon training should not forget to consider the next Sussex Grand Prix race which is the Worthing 20 mile race on 5th April. For those who prefer something a bit shorter, there is the Hastings 5 mile race on 19th April which is also a Sussex Grand Prix event.

On the Sunday 29th March, Tunbridge Wells Harriers are staging their last perfect pre-London Marathon 18 mile training run from Pembury, Camden Arms at 8.00 am . There is an option of an additional 2 miles to add on before, after, or both. Also there is a 13 mile short cut. 3 drinks stations with water and sports drinks will be laid on. All are welcome to this scenic, (tough) hilly course.

9th March 2009 - results round up

2009-06-13T08:25:00.001Z

A round up of recent race results:

Apologies for not reporting earlier on Siobhan Burke's result in the Tim Sutton Fowlmead 5 race held on 22nd February, but I was unaware of it until I took to reading the Results pages of the Nice Work website. Well done Siobhan!

Siobhan's result was:

22nd February 2009 Tim Sutton Fowlmead 5

2 0:43:49 BURKE, Siobhan Wadhurst Runners Senior Ladies 107

At the weekend, Michael Mackay led the pair of Waddies home who ventured down to Lydd for the Half Marathon. Independent reports suggest that the out lap was quick with a following wind but that when the runners turned they had to run the homeward lap against the wind. The course was flat, with the only up and down hills being a humpbacked bridge!

Congratulations to Michael and Albert on the results for their 3rd Half Marathon in as many weeks:-

8th March 2009 Lydd Half Marathon

22 1:28:27 MACKAY, Michael Wadhurst Runners Male Vet 2 229
114 1:43:46 KEMP, Albert Wadhurst Runners Male Vet 5 1

Meanwhile, Peter Burfoot and Sally Toll were flying the flag in the final race of the East Sussex Sunday Cross Country League season at the Pestalozzi Village, Sedlescombe, the results of which will be circulated when they are published.

8th March 2009 Social News

2009-06-13T08:19:00.001Z

Social News from Social Sec. Sally follows:

Saturday May 2nd

Annual Awards Dinner, The George, Frant.
£19:95 per person for 3 course meal
Let me know ASAP if you wish to come.

Wednesday 17th June

Quiz night at the Bull, Three Leg Cross (subject to date check with Bull Inn)

July- Date to be decided

High Ropes Course, Bedgebury.
If you would like to have a go please let me know. I am hoping to get a group discount if there are enough of us.

August- date to be decided

Family beach picnic with fun races.

Sunday 6th September

Bacon Butty run

Friday 9th October

Curry night, Junaki, Hawkhurst.

Friday 6th November

Skittles, Black Horse, Telham

Friday 4th December

Christmas meal, Mark Cross Inn, Wadhurst.

Please let me know if you are interested in any of these or if there are any major race clashes.

Thanks

Sally

1st March 2009 Eastbourne Half Marathon

2009-06-13T08:17:00.000Z

Hi,

Wadhurst Runners put up a magnificent performance at the Eastbourne Half Marathon Sussex Grand Prix race today. The results speak for themselves:

6 1:20:43 CARR, Russell Wadhurst Runners Senior Men 1:20:38 790 6
15 1:24:26 OSBORN, Ciaran Wadhurst Runners Senior Men 1:24:26 276 15
36 1:28:33 PAIN, Michael Vet Men 40-49 1:28:31 837 36
37 1:28:50 WARING, Mark Wadhurst Runners Senior Men 1:28:49 596 37
45 1:30:12 MACKAY, Michael Wadhurst Runners Vet Men 40-49 1:30:10 811 45
105 1:36:24 WATTENBACH, Eddie Wadhurst Runners Vet Men 40-49 1:36:19 700 105
122 1:37:44 HALL, Cathy Wadhurst Runners Vet Ladies 35-44 1:37:38 849 122
218 1:44:26 LAST, Shane Wadhurst Runners Vet Men 40-49 1:44:20 946 218
221 1:44:32 BROOKER, Nick Wadhurst Runners Vet Men 40-49 1:44:20 201 221
226 1:44:50 KEMP, Albert Wadhurst Runners Vet Men 60+ 1:44:45 487 226
231 1:44:54 JONES, David Wadhurst Runners Vet Men 50-59 1:44:43 74 231
635 2:07:15 GATES, Anthony Wadhurst Runners Vet Men 50-59 2:07:00 484 635
652 2:08:06 GATES, Kathie Wadhurst Runners Senior Ladies 2:07:51 485 652
768 2:18:51 PETKOVIC, Charlotte Wadhurst Runners Senior Ladies 2:18:37 813 768

Meanwhile the Captain was over on Planet Thanet in ideal conditions trying to get back on track with his training schedule for the Rotterdam Marathon in 5 weeks time, by running the Thanet 20 mile race over a slightly different course for 2009 and taking in the North Foreland Lighthouse and the numerous bays and ups and downs to the north and south of Ramsgate:

163 2:41:50 BURFOOT, Peter Wadhurst Runners M56 67.36% 110 163

23rd February 2009 Sussex Beacon Half Marathon

2009-06-13T08:15:00.001Z

Congratulations to the 15 Waddies who competed in the Sussex Beacon Half Marathon today.

Fittingly, the Waddies were led home by stalwart member Michael Mackay, displaying his usual prowess. There were some excellent individual performances with several pbs. Lyn Hayes ran still nursing the ankle she injured recently whilst skiing and it fell to the Chairman afterwards to demonstrate his skills on Lyn's ankle as a masseur. Barry Gilbert travelled from Reading to be at the event. For Mark Casse it was his first race.

The course starts in Madeira Drive and goes up London Road to just beyond the station, then makes its way through the Lanes back onto the seafront to Hove, where it loops back and later follows the Lower Promenade. Past the Pier the route climbs above Madeira Drive and then doubles back down towards the Start so at 10 miles average-paced runners have the excitement of seeing the Race Winners finish their race. The runners proceed towards the Marina, climb the cliff once again and above the Marina descend a steep path to sea level alongside the bobbing boats before running the final mile to the Finish. Gone are the windswept muddy paths towards Rottingdean loathed by runners in bygone years.

The conditions were good. It seemed quite cold in the wind but once under way the runners quickly warmed up! It was mostly cloudy after some glimpses of the sun before the Start. The breeze never really troubled until it headed in the last mile. There were 6063 Registered Entrants and 4613 Finishers so it is the biggest race in the neighbourhood and appeared to have been enjoyed by all the Waddies who took part.

The results:-

Provisional Results for All Competitors in finish order.
Sussex Beacon Half Marathon, Half Marathon Race - Sunday 22 February 2009. 9:45 am
Race Chip Race Race
Place Time Name Team Age Category Time No Place

242 1:29:41 MACKAY, Michael Wadhurst Runners Men 40-49 1:29:07 235 242
372 1:33:14 WATTENBACH, Eddie Wadhurst Runners Men 40-49 1:33:10 2754 372
553 1:36:48 HALL, Cathy Wadhurst Runners Ladies 21-39 1:36:44 4988 553
691 1:38:51 BURFOOT, Peter Wadhurst Runners Men 50-59 1:38:42 1740 691
711 1:39:09 HAYES, Linda Wadhurst Runners Ladies 40-49 1:38:43 666 711
926 1:42:25 JONES, David Wadhurst Runners Men 50-59 1:41:17 2538 926
1022 1:43:59 KEMP, Albert Wadhurst Runners Men 60-69 1:43:43 1974 1022
1118 1:45:14 CASSE, Mark Wadhurst Runners Men 21-39 1:44:57 4583 1118
1239 1:46:56 LAST, Shane Wadhurst Runners Men 40-49 1:42:56 1748 1239
1513 1:49:53 NEARY, Helen Wadhurst Runners Ladies 50-59 1:48:46 2467 1513
1896 1:53:51 RANDOLPH, Fergus Wadhurst Runners Men 40-49 1:52:44 4982 1896
2538 2:00:41 MACKAY, Melinda Wadhurst Runners Ladies 40-49 1:55:16 2269 2538
2942 2:04:47 GATES, Anthony Wadhurst Runners Men 50-59 2:04:01 1907 2942
3254 2:08:50 GATES, Kathie Wadhurst Runners Ladies 21-39 2:08:04 1908 3254
3428 2:11:30 GILBERT, Barry Wadhurst Runners Men 60-69 2:08:56 4198 3428

....Meanwhile Janet Drake was running the Bury 10 mile race today and her results are awaited.

The next Sussex Grand Prix race is the Eastbourne Half Marathon on 1st March. For those needing to run a longer race for training for the early April Paris or Rotterdam Marathons, there is the Thanet 20 mile race on 1st March at Ramsgate.

The next Cross Country is on 8th March at Sedlescombe.

If you want to run a Half Marathon in the next few weeks, why not try the Hastings Half Marathon on 15th March, which is also an SGP event?

17th December 2008 Hastings Marathon

2009-06-13T08:10:00.001Z

Congratulations to all those Waddies who took part in the weekend’s Hastings Marathon 2008!

There were some fantastic achievements. But everybody who completed this race today was a winner over the course and conditions. It was a gruelling race run in near-freezing conditions and seemed designed to ensure that this would be a race nobody would forget - nor would anybody want to forget it as the sense of achievement was so high.

Some Waddies who took part have been plagued with injury worries and others have been ill. Many had their training programmes interrupted. Some did not have training programmes at all (allegedly, at least). This was a race which sapped all the juice from the muscles and runners ran the last few miles along the seafront moaning and groaning with the effort and pain.

Here are the results:

Michael Mackay 49th 3:08:35 - a Good for Age place at last!
Mark Waring 80th 3:14:27 pb by around 30 minutes
Helen Goddard 126th 3:21:30 First marathon. 7th Lady overall. 4th Lady 18-39
Eddie Wattenbach 200th 3:29:13 nursing hamstring injury
Lynn Hayes 239th 3:33:31 First Marathon. 6th Lady 45-49
Peter Burfoot 335th 3:45:08
Albert Kemp 392nd 3:50:13 4th Men 60-64 recovering from illness
Tony Gates 1094th 5:12:52
Bonita Backhouse 1096th 5:13:06
Kathie Gates 1116th 5:20:29
Sara Wrenn 1159th 5:46:33
Martin Burke 1169th 6:05:23 Recovering from Himalayan Mountain Sickness

..and not forgetting our 2nd claim runner, Derek Harrison running in period costume: 188th 3:27:40 9th Men 50 - 54.

The Wadhurst Men's team consisting of Michael, Mark, Eddie and Peter clinched a staggering 8th place out 57 teams. Well done!

Last but by no means least as they had the coldest job of all, thank you to the club members and friends who supported our runners on this arduous race.

Sussex Grand Prix - provisional dates for 2009

2008-12-10T09:38:00.011Z

The provisional 2009 SGP Race Calendar is:

22nd February 2009 - The Sussex Beacon Half
1st March 2009 Eastbourne Half Marathon
15th March 2009 Hastings Half Marathon
5th April 2009 Worthing 20
19th April 2009 Hastings 5 Miles
(26th April 2009 London Marathon)
10th May 2009 Horsham 10K
3rd June 2009 Worthing 10K
(6th June 2009 South Downs Relay)
21st June 2009 Heathfield 10K
5th July 2009 Bewl 15
30th July 2009 Bexhil 5K (prov)
23rd August 2009 Will Page 10K
14th September 2009 Hellingly 10K
20th September 2009 Hove Prom 10K
4th October 2009 Lewes Downland 10 mile
11th October 2009 Chichester 10K
1st November 2009 Barns Green Half Marathon
8th November 2009 Phoenix Park Races
15th November 2009 Brighton 10K
29th November 2009 Crowborough 10K

Hastings Marathon

2008-12-10T09:38:00.010Z

Good luck to the Waddies running the Hastings Marathon this Sunday.

The race starts at 09.30 and the route is Hastings Town Hall to Old Town, to The Ridge, past The Conquest Hospital, to Bexhill, to Catsfield, to Bexhill and along the Promenade back to the Town Hall to finish.

Try and spare some time to support the Wadhurst contingententry comprising Mark (skoll)Waring, Peter (I am flying) Burfoot, Lyn (my first ever marathon, yippes) Hayes, Albert (my 23rd marathon)Kemp and Sara (I have not run for 2 months)Wrenn. Best wishes and last person home is a sissy.

Also running on Sunday, Bonita Backhouse, Martin Burke, Tony Gates, Kathie Gates, Helen Goddard, Mike Mackay, Jim McCulloch and Eddie, Wattenbach.

Good luck to all.

Cross Country Series

2008-12-10T09:38:00.006Z

The second race in the Cross Country Series (five races this year, reduced from six last year) over usually a 5 mile course(approximate) takes place on Sunday 28th December 2008 at Warren Hill, near Eastbourne.

These events are great fun, albeit a little cold and none of those run this series are considered to be particularly muddy. We have a combined team with Crowborough. The team needs 15 runners and usually does well whenever we have several of the Waddies running. There is always a children’s race over 1 mile only for ages 8 to 14 which starts at 10.30. These races are free and ideal for our family members as there is always plenty of baby sitters on hand if both parents want to run. Those youngsters 15 and older run with the adults. The senior race costs just £2.50 to enter and starts at 11am.

We meet at Uplands for 9am as usual for a warm up short run and car sharing.

The rest of the programme for this season is:

Sunday February 1st 2009 Ashdown Forest
Sunday February 15th 2009 Cross-in-Hand
Sunday March 8th Pestalozzi.

Helen Goddard works at Pestalozzi so it will be extra special to support her venue.

Handicap - combined results

2008-12-10T09:37:00.006Z

The result of the combined Annual and Xmas Handicap races, for which the first male and lady runners, receive the coveted handicap trophies, are below but first a rule or two.

Both races must be run and each race is awarded a point for each position i.e. 1 point for 1st and 2 points for 2nd. Both race points are accumulated and the lowest score determines the trophy positions. The results are therefore:

Peter Burfoot 7 points 1st Man
Sally Toll 10 points 1st Lady
Eddie Wattenbach 10 points
Diane Osborn 13 points
Fergus Randolph 12 points
Helen Neary 19 points
Dave Jones 17 points
Albert Kemp 19 points

No other runners completed both races. Many thanks to our Club President, Roger Smith and especially to Chris and his daughter Jane, for hosting us and providing the mince pies, sausage rolls and mulled wine.

Winter Handicap results

2008-12-10T09:26:00.003Z

Eleven intrepid Waddies attended this year’s handicap which started at our President’s house at 9am sharpish on Sunday. Two of our Crowborough friends ran too. They all braved a cold but crisp morning and care was needed on sheltered, quiet slippery roads.

Sadly the fancy dress this year was less than enthusiastic - whcih left the way open for Albert to win. It was pointed out - by Albert - that he wasnt wearing fancy dress.

The winners were:

1st finisher – Sally Toll; 2nd Peter Burfoot and 3rd Diane Osborn. The top men were Peter, Eddie and Ciaran with the leading ladies Sally, Diane and Sharon Wheeler of Crowborough. The record for both the men and ladies fastest time were shattered by the husband and wife duo, Ciaran and Diane. The full results show that handicapping does give us slower runners a chance as the full details are:

1st Sally 0:56:28
2nd Peter 0:58:26
3rd Diane 0:58:31
4th Eddie 0:58:47
5th Sharon 0:59:04
6th Ciaran 0:59:09
7th Nick B 0:59:14
8th Fergus 0:59:31
9th Bryan 1:00:30
10th David 1:00:45
11th Tim 1:00:51
12th Albert1:01:58
13th Helen 1:01:59

The result of the fancy dress completion was hard fought but most eliminated themselves leaving Helen Neary the clear winner of the ladies and Albert squeezed in just as the male winner. Mind you he was clearly seen by several witnesses to pass a £10 note to Shane who was the starter and time controller. Bribery clearly works.

End of season report from the Headmaster

2008-12-10T09:21:00.003Z

Chairman Albert Osaurus send us his end of term report:

"Wadhurst Runners entered the last round of the Sussex Grand Prix Road Running Series, being the last of 18 races, at the Crowborough 10K. After 17 races they were clinging onto 5th place, which is one place higher than they achieved in 2007.

Thankfully the race conditions were suitably cold rather than the wet and cold of previous years. The team needed to maximise their results to have a chance of achieving their best ever position.

Ciaran Osborne was the 1st Waddie finishing in a powerful 7th place, his highest place of the year. The first Wadhurst lady was Helen Goddard who also finished strongly in 58th place overall and was 7th lady overall.

Other notable successes were Lyn Hayes who was 4th lady vet 2 and Albert Kemp, club chairman, who was 3rd vet 3. Personal Bests were recorded by new comers Nick Brooker and Matt Seabrook. The team results were:

7th 37:35 minutes Ciaran Osborn – senior male; 58th 43:49 Helen Goddard Lady Vets class 1; 75th 44:57 Peter Burfoot Male Vets class 2; 101st 46:51 Lyn Hayes Lady Vets 2; 137th Nick Brooker 48:53 Male Vets 1; 172nd 50:36 Albert Kemp Male Vets 3; 258th 55:06 Fergus Randolph Male Vets 1; 316th 59:10 Barry Gilbert Male Vets 3; 318th 59:21 Matt Seabrook Male Vet 1; 340th 1:01:09 Tony Gates Male Vets 2 and 345th 1:01:47 Kathie gates Senior Ladies.

As a result of the team performance the Wadhurst Runners achieved their aim and ended 5th overall. Thanks mainly to the ladies who were 3rd overall and 2nd in the vets category. This is the very first time in their history that Wadhurst Runners has ended up with medals in the series. The men were 6th overall and the vets were 5th.

Tony Gates should receive a special mention once again for his award for completing all 18 races. This is an exceptional, indeed rare, feat and this is the 2nd year in a row that he has received this award. Just 3 have runners completed this amazing feat and last year this trophy was restricted to 2 runners only.

The whole Grand prix had 1,119 affiliated club runners of which 667 were men and 452 were women. The series is growing year by year and had 985 runners last year. Individually the Wadhurst Runners have won medals in a number of categories:

Ladies Team – 3rd
Vet Ladies Team – 2nd
Senior Men up to age 39 – 5th Ciaran Osborn
Senior Ladies age 34 – 4th Kathie Gates
Vet ladies age 35+ - 5th Helen Goddard, 7th Lyn Hayes and 8th Cathy Gates
Vet Men V5 age 60 to 64 – Albert Kemp
Vet Lady V1 age 35 to 39 – 2nd Helen Goddard and 3rd Cathy Hall
Vet Lady V3 age 45 to 49 – 2nd Lyn Hayes
Vet Lady V4 age 50 to 54 – 3rd Janet Drake
Vet Lady V5 age 55 to 59 – 3rd Helen Neary
Completing all 18 races – Tony Gates

Crowborough 10K

2008-12-10T09:09:00.003Z

Eleven Waddies took part in the final Sussex GP race of the year at Crowborough on November 30th, including Barry Gilbert who made the long journey over from Reading. Although by the look of poor Barry's face at the finish we suspect its not a race - or a hill - he'll be in too much of a hurry to exerience again!

The results were:

7th 0:37:35 OSBORN, Ciaran
58th 0:43:49 GODDARD, Helen
75th 0:44:57 BURFOOT, Peter
101st 0:46:51 HAYES, Linda
137th 0:48:53 BROOKER, Nick
172nd 0:50:36 KEMP, ALBERT
258th 0:55:06 RANDOLPH, Fergus
316th 0:59:10 GILBERT, Barry
318th 0:59:21 SEABROOK, Matt
340th 1:01:09 GATES, Anthony
345th 1:01:47 GATES, Kathie

In addition, Ben Ubee, Nick Brooker's nephew, guested as a Waddie in a Waddie vest.

305th 0:58:12 UBEE, Benjamin

Well done to all who took part.

Brighton 10K

2008-11-19T08:37:00.002Z

The Brooks Brighton 10k SGP race took place in excellent conditions along Brighton Seafront on Sunday. There were 2312 finishers including a smattering of Waddies. Our commisserations go to Ciaran and Sara who retired from the race.

The results were:

HELEN GODDARD 00:41:01
PETER BURFOOT 00:42:26
ALBERT KEMP 00:46:19
ANTHONY GATES 00:49:60
HELEN NEARY 00:50:03
KATHIE GATES 00:54:17

Next up is the last SGP race of the season, the Crowborough 10k.

The World's Most Beautiful Marathon

2008-11-19T08:26:00.005Z

Well thats how Runners World describes the Everest Challenge Marathon - which in addition to being a 27 mile gruelling test of stamina is but one day in the five day 100 Mile Himalaya Stage Race - one of the world's toughest events.

Cathy and Martin Burke have just returned from the event and as Cathy writes:-

"An absolutely amazing experience but really, really tough. Others there said it was harder than Ironman and the Racing the Planet which they had taken part in. So I'm quite chuffed to have finished the race in under 35 hours."

Martin took part in some of the event and managed to produce a pb fopr 17 miles in completeing the final stage of the race!

Rumour has it that our friend Ron also took part and his report will shortly be appearing at .

A full report when both have had the opportunity to recover and catch up will appear on a blog near here.

.....And closer to home there were 2 events in Sussex:-

At the Bexhill Half Marathon Club Chairman Albert Kemp was denied 1st place in Male V 60 age group by being duped into believing that his rival for the place, Mick Staines of Pitsea RC was beaten.

Albert came in 26 seconds behind Mick to clinch 106th place and 2nd place MV60 with a time of 1:45:36. The wind was so strong that Albert was "nearly blown over" which, being translated, means blown sideways.

Well done Albert!

...Meanwhile, a handful of Waddies made the journey to Preston Park, Brighton for the annual Preston Park Races. These races are run in separate sections for boys, girls, men and women of various age groupings run separately over different distances at different times. There is very much a club atmosphere something approaching that of an athletics meeting.

It was dry, at least for the men's race, but a fierce wind greeted runners in parts of the course. The results were:-

Women (3.8k)

19th Linda Hayes 15:34
49th Kathie Gates 19:36

Men (7.3k)

21st Ciaran Osborn 25:54
88th Peter Burfoot 31:20
97th Anthony Gates 33:46

Well done, all of you!

....And midweek, Albert Kemp and Barry Gilbert ran in the 56th annual Henlow 10 Mile Road Race, held in ideal cool calm and sunny conditions. The course takes runners on an A to B route from the Old Warden Aerodrome back to RAF Henlow in Bedfordshire. It follows mainly minor roads and takes in a few challenging hills on the way. A total of 223 runners completed the course comprising of mainly RAF personnel, MOD employees and local civilian clubs including Stopsley Striders, Bedford Harriers and Fairland Valley Spartans. It was also pleasing to note that RAF Aldergrove from Northern Ireland and RAF Kinloss had travelled down from Scotland to compete.

The results were

107th 77:13 Albert Kemp
187th 92:05 Barry Gilbert

Well done the pair of you. Jolly Good Show, What?

For those Waddies not competing in the Hastings Marathon, now is the time to be getting out your diaries! A total of 14 Waddies have entered the event which is being run for the first time since 1908 on 14th December 2008. It promises to be a very special event and the Waddies runnning it need you. Your role will be to support the Waddies on the course. The race starts from Hastings Town Hall at 9.30 am. After a loop round the Town Centre the course climbs up passed Willliam Parker School to the Ridge, westwards to Battle and Catsfield, then down to Ninfield and Sidley before descending into Bexhill and along the seafront to Hastings. Supporters are encouraged to wear period dress for 1908. Further details are avialable on the Hastings Marathon website:

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 2nd 2008

2008-11-19T08:23:00.002Z

The Barn's Green Half Marathon took place today in excellent conditions, cool, still and dry, though it was rather wet underfoot in a short grass and woodchip section. There were 1283 finishers this year, well up on last year.

The course reverted to its pre 2007 route so the start was back in its normal downhill position and there was a section of track followed by grass and then woodchips between about 4.5 and 5.5 miles. Times generally seemed a bit slower than last year's, though Chairman Albert was flying again after Cardiff and was well up the time sheets, helping the Wadhurst Male Team into 24th place out of 41.

The results were:

83rd 1:28:48 Mark Waring
206th 1:36:41 Peter Burfoot
263th 1:39:30 Lynn Hayes
346th 1:42:33 Albert Kemp
677th 1:54:27 Tony Gates

WEDNESDAY 29th OCTOBER 2008

2008-11-19T08:16:00.004Z

A small group of Waddies competed in races in three different countries over the weekend:

In Holland, congratulations to Charlotte Petkovic who travelled with the Nice Work party to take part in her first marathon in Amsterdam. Her time was 5:11:46 (Chip) and 5:20:16 (gun). Well done Charlotte -an excellent result.

Cathy Burke also ran in the Amsterdam Half Marathon in 1:59:48 (Chip) and 2:08:26(gun).

In Wales, Chairman Albert Kemp ran with his freshly operated hand in the Cardiff Half Marathon. He was 10th male V60 with times of 1:42:51 (chip) and 1:43:53 (gun).

Well done Albert!

And back in Blighty, David Jones and Peter Burfoot competed in the hilly Maidstone Half Marathon in good and cool conditions.

David Jones was 243rd with 1:45:11.
Peter Burfoot was 135th with 1:37:37.

SUNDAY 26th OCTOBER 2008

2008-11-19T08:14:00.002Z

Congratulations once again to Ed McKinney on amazing feat of endurance: this time his 47th place in the Beachy Head Marathon which took place yesterday. Ed romped home ahead of any Crowborough opposition in 3hrs 48 minutes. He was joined shortly afterwards by his wife Bonita Backhouse who finished in 730th place with a time of 5:34. Well done the pair of you!

Congratulations also to Wadhurst Runner Derek Harrison on his Beachy Head result wearing his Tunbridge Wells Harriers vest.

Also, well done to David Burfoot for representing St Catherines College with a minimum of training in the 200m at the Oxford University Cuppas, on Saturday, the results of which have yet to be confirmed.

MONDAY 13TH OCTOBER 2008

2008-11-19T08:04:00.003Z

Peter Burfoot reports ...

"The Lewes Downland 10 mile off road race was run on 5th October in atrocious conditions - stinging driving rain, mist, and winds strong enough to stop the runners in their tracks at one point. There was water everywhere running in rivers or collected in ankle-depth puddles, sometimes mixed with mud of similar depth.

Albert announced afterwards that the conditions underfoot were better than usual. He said the the water prevented the mud from being gooey and sticking to your trainers. After everybody else had wrung out their soaked kit and changed into dry clothes at Race HQ, Albert, still drenched, stood shivering and also announced that he was going back for more - he had to run a further 8 miles that morning.

I couldn't possibly comment on past conditions as I hadn't run the race before....nor, apparently, did I this year, since, after waiting a full week for the results I haven't been included - the result of an epic 6.5 mile battle with Shane will never make it into the history books.

The organisers announcement reads:

"Regretably due to the bad weather on the day places and times were lost. Please let us know if you are missing."

Congratulations to all those Waddies who braved the conditions. The published results (after including my own time) are:-

8th 1:06:20 Ciaran Osborn
34th 1:13:21 Mark Waring
51st 1:16:09 Helen Goddard
67th 1:18:15 Eddie Wattenbach
78th 1:20:27 Peter Burfoot
79th 1:20:53 Shane Last
117th 1:26:52 Lynn Hayes
137th 1:30:14 Tony Gates
146th 1:32:24 Albert Kemp
149th 1:32:53 David Jones
208th 1:57:50 Kathie Gates
210th 2:01:52 Sara Wrenn
214th 2:04:47 Janet Drake

If you or your time are still missing, please contact Lewes AC so they can organise a search."

Chichester 10K

In contrasting warm, still and sunny conditions the Chichester 10k AAA Championship Race was run on 12th October, with the winner from Belgrave Harriers clocking a time of 29:38. A clutch of Waddies travelled to the farther reaches of West Sussex for the occasion, and an occasion it was with plenty of support about in the built-up areas and an announcer seemingly imported from the BBC of the World War II era.

Congratulations to all the Waddies who took part and commiserations to Mat Seabrook who arrived just as the race was about to start so didn't have time to attach his "new look" credit card type chip, and so didn't get a time or mention in the results either. Here are the results:-

260th 42:09 Peter Burfoot
307th 43:29 Shane Last
515th 47:37 Tony Gates
650th 50:31 Helen Neary
739th 52:02 Barry Gilbert
53:?? Mat Seabrook
975th 57:57 Kathie Gates

Cross Country News

Crowborough Runners are not expecting to field a team next week for the opening cross country race at Whitbread Hollow Eastbourne on acount of their James Welbury's birthday celebrations. Wadhurst Runners joins up with Crowborough Runners for the Cross Country Season in the East Sussex Sunday Cross Country League.

Details of next week's race can be found on the Sussex Races website.

The next SGP race is the Barn's Green Half Marathon on 2nd November.

MONDAY 29TH SEPTEMBER 2008

2008-11-19T07:58:00.001Z

As far as is known, Waddies race action at the weekend centred on or near to the south coast, with the Bexhill 10k, the Folkestone Half Marathon and the Firle 20k Trail Run taking place.

Bexhill 10k

60th 48:24 Albert Kemp

Folkestone Half Marathon

439th 2:14:18 Charlotte Petkovic

Firle 20k Trail Run

23rd 1:40:04 Peter Burfoot

The Firle race started in the cool of a sunny windless morning at 9:30 am and the running conditions were ideal for attempting the assault on the scarp face of the South Downs (provided by that time you had not ground to a halt, or a walk) and running up and down along the ridge once you reached the top.

This Sunday sees the running of the Lewes Downland Off-road 10 mile race which is part of the Sussex Grand Prix Series.

Details can be found on the Sussex Races Website:

WEDNESDAY 24TH SEPTEMBER 2008

2008-11-19T07:55:00.002Z

Entries have now opened for the Sussex Beacon Half Marathon 2009, which will be held on 22nd February. This was a tremendous race this year in glorious sunshine and the course has definite pb potential.

The race is very expensive for a Half Marathon although runners who are members of clubs in the Sussex Grand Prix series can secure an additional discount on the entry fee by quoting an Unique SGP Number.

The number for Wadhurst Runners members which you will need to write on your entry form is W920.

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 22nd 2008

2008-11-19T07:47:00.003Z

Wadhurst Runners took part in two races over the weekend, the Hove Prom 10k and the Beckley 10k, achieving some good times and a few pbs. A special mention to Liam Burke who won his race in style, a great result.

Results:

Hove Prom 10k

81st 41.47 Eddie Wattenbach
109th 44.03 Lyn Hayes
170th 48.08 Tony Gates
191th 49.05 Dave Jones
202nd 51.26 Helen Neary
240th 57.02 Kathy Gates

Beckley 10k

8th 42.20 Mike Pain
15th 44.47 Shane Last
105th 1.01.53 Siobhan Burke
113th 1.07.22 Sara Wrenn
125th 1.19.20 Sally Toll

Beckley Childrens Race

1st 5.05 Liam Burke

Also last weekend the Pain family took on the Somme Half Marathon. This is a lovely part of France and well worth a visit. The race ran along country lanes and past a few WW1 Memorials. The race was far from flat, but this didn't stop Andy from running an excellent pb.

Somme Half

31st 1.32.33 Mike Pain
205th 1.57.47 Andy Pain

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 15TH

2008-11-19T07:42:00.003Z

Waddies were in action once again over the weekend - on Friday evening and Sunday.

The final race in the Rye Summer Classic Series took place on Friday evening and the 5k race was run in ideal conditions, resulting in some pbs. The results are as follows:-

30th 20:06 Peter Burfoot
42nd 20:59 Lynn Hayes
65th 23:00 Albert Kemp
73rd 24:15 Nyree Thomson
121st 31:31 Sara Wrenn
128th 36:16 Sally Toll

The Hellingly 10k race was run on a beautiful late summer day yesterday, with a light easterly breeze. The results were:

45th 42:07 Helen Goddard
54th 43:16 Eddie Wattenbach
65th 44:28 Peter Burfoot
89th 46:16 Cathy Hall
111th 48:03 Albert Kemp
113th 48:10 David Jones
134th 49:50 Tony Gates
159th 52:56 Helen Neary
187th 55:58 Matthew Seabrook
210th 58:51 Kathie Gates
235th 1:05:47 Janet Drake

Well done to all who took part and congratulations to those who won prizes.

The next SGP race is on 21st September at Hove. Entry Details are on the Sussex Races website. On the same day, and a little closer to home, it is the 4th running of the Beckley 10K on the same day.

MONDAY 26TH AUGUST 2008

2008-11-19T07:31:00.004Z

With the Sussex Grand Prix results after 9 races putting Wadhurst Runners 2nd overall in the standings, there is renewed interest in the SGP races.

Yesterday saw the running of the Newick Will Page 10k race, 3rd only to Crowborough in the severity of its undulations.

The uncharacteristically cool damp and dreary weather conditions were ideal for running though some runners noticed a headwind on the main road section between 3.5 and 4.5 kms.

Nine Waddies made the journey and the team was led in by Helen Goddard in a fantastic time of 41:41.

The results were:-

42nd 0:41:41 GODDARD, Helen
52nd 0:42:59 WATTENBACH, Eddie
68th 0:45:00 BURFOOT, Peter
100th 0:48:19 JONES, David
102nd 0:48:27 KEMP, Albert
103rd 0:48:33 CLEMENTS, Tim
128th 0:49:13 GATES, Anthony
200th 1:01:58 GATES, Kathie
204th 1:02:47 DRAKE, Janet

Photos are available at:

The next SGP race is the Hellingly 10k on 14th September and entry details can be found at:

Last, but not least, all are welcome to participate in the 3rd Annual Weald Ridge 10 km run which is due to take place at Weald Ridge, High Street, Ticehurst, Wadhurst East Sussex, TN5 7HT this Sunday 31st August 2008 at 10.00 hrs.

This is a circular run of just over 10k which includes part of the Bewl 15 course. Cakes have traditionally been served on the terrace after the run and the weather forecast is looking good...at the moment

SATURDAY 24TH AUGUST 2008

2008-11-19T07:29:00.002Z

Congratulations to all those who took part in the Rye 5k on last night. Thanks to Martin & Cathy, from Nice Work, who staged another excellent event in the Rye Series.

Here are the results:

22 0:19:43 PAIN, Michael
30 0:20:12 LAST, Shane
38 0:20:34 BURFOOT, Peter
45 0:21:05 HAYES, Lynn
65 0:22:48 PAIN, Andrew
66 0:22:50 KEMP, Albert
94 0:27:03 BURKE, Siobhan
112 0:29:32 DRAKE, Janet
125 0:35:57 TOLL, Sally

MONDAY 19th AUGUST 2008

2008-11-19T07:28:00.002Z

Peter Burfoot reports ....

"I hope you are are enjoying your summer break.

I was the sole Waddie taking part in the Henfield Half Marathon yesterday. This is a useful pre-season warm-up for the Autumn Half Marathon race season.

The Henfield course changed this year and made this a rather gruelling course. The times of most runners were adversely affected and according to the RW forum the length was about a quarter of a mile over distance.

The race is off-road apart from a half mile stretch of country lane and is very mixed terrain. The course is centred on a disused railway line and the banks of the river Adur, which run north-South to the west of Henfield. The old railway provides a smooth running surface and the riverbank is generally firm, grassy and uneven and peppered with stiles. A section running around some fields had been cut out at the start but was replaced with more riverbank with tussocks of grass and nettles on either side and a section of narrow rutted and muddy bridleway (complete with horse and rider).

The general concensus is that it was a tough challenging race. The 2 water stations were considered too few and it does heat up in the valley along the river, though some of the railway sections are shaded. There are some small undulations to keep runners on their toes, but no hills as such.

I enjoyed this hard race and was happy with my time and 3rd V4 position. I was 5 places down the sheet from last year, but I was then 2/3rds of the way into my training for the Berlin Marathon and in peak form for the distance.

My 2008 official result was:

61st Peter Burfoot 1:46:23

Remember that on Friday at Rye Harbour is the 2nd race in the Rye Classic Series, a 5k which starts from the Sailing Club at 7pm.

Also, the Will Page Newick 10k Sussex Grand Prix race takes place this Sunday. Details and an entry form are on at:

We are hoping for a record Waddie attendance at the event which has a village fete atmosphere.

Peter"

SUNDAY 17th AUGUST 2008

2008-11-19T07:19:00.005Z

Hastings AC Relays

Very many congratulations to the Ladies Vets Team consisting of:

Lynn Hayes
Cathy Hall
Diane Osborn
Helen Goddard

... for scooping the Ladies Vet First Prize at the Hastings Relays this week. The event consisted of each runner doing the 1.2 Mile circuit once as a relay and then all four members of the team running the 5th leg together.

Well done to the four of you.

....And the men's Open Team didn't do too badly either, though their precise position will not be known until the results are published. Our thanks go to Darren from Hastings for standing in for Chairman Albert Kemp who was indisposed.

The remaining members of the Mens Team were:

Eddie Wattenbach
David Burfoot
Peter Burfoot

Well done Tony and Kathie

2008-08-15T10:25:00.004Z

Father and daughter Waddies duo Tony and Kathie Gates competed in the Kent Challenge with Tony achieving the full distance of 52.4 miles in a time of 13 hours and 11 minutes. Kathie managed 40 miles in 10 hours flat. The race is an annual event consisting of 8 laps broken up with pretty undulating scenery over farmland around Canterbury.

Our Berkshire-based Waddy Barry Gilbert had a clean sweep and won the series trophy as 1st place in the vet category 5 (60 to 64 years of age) at each of the 3 Patch Running Queen Mother reservoir 10K race series with times of 51:03; 49:54 and 51:13. Gilbert is on a quest to complete 100 races this year and is almost on schedule. The wheels almost came off last weekend when, with WebEd he ventured to a place called the north for the Great Walford 10 Mile race. Unfortunatel, Barry pulled out after 6 miles with sore hips - but WebEd stormed through the field in a blistering 1.52.33.

The main force of the team ran in the Bexhill 5K running race which is race no. 9 of the 18 race series in the Sussex Grand Prix.

Tony Sorrell

Not all Waddies have access to the t'internet and we sometimes forget these people when we're publishing results, news and gossip. Tony Sorrell is one of those in the wonderful position of not receiving emails by the hundred. But he wanted us to put a message on the Blog - so here it is. Thanks for your contribution Tony.

I started running when I was fifty years old and I never thought that whilst struggling at the rear of the |Tuesday evening runs that I would have so many years of fun and enjoyment ahead of me.

The Sussex Grand Prix races are an opportunity to meet so many new people and to make new friends. It is a pleasure to be able to contribute points for the Wadhurst Runners even if you never win a race!

Although I have never entered races abroad I have competed proudly wearing my Wadhurst Runners vest in Phoenix Park, Dublin; Balmoral, Scotland and mask in Yorkshire. For a number of years I have also competed in the Great South run at Portsmouth and it is amazing how year on year you meet up with other runners from different venues throughout the South.

Albert has always been such an inspiration and support and has often run me in after he had finished his race.

Grand Prix races are excellent – everyone can earn points for their club and feel they are doing their bit whether they are the hare or the tortoise.

Tony Sorrell”

More summer races

2008-08-06T06:27:00.003Z

Don't forget tonight sees the 2nd Hastings AC relay event at William Parker School in the town.

Teams of four are needed and if you haven't already made it known you'd like to take part then why not pop along to the event?

Results of the latest Bexhill 5K event held last Wednesday along the sea front are now available. Congratulations to all those who took part:

73. Eddie Wattenbach 20:14.01
84. Shane Last 20:51.00
93. Linda Hayes 21:13.00
116. Peter Burfoot 22:01.01
126. Tony Gates 22:34.00
143. Tim Clements 23:28.00
152. Albert Kemp 23:42.00
196. Sara Wrenn 26:25.00
209. Kathie Gates 27:15.00
247. Maria Parkinson 29:40.00
248. Janet Drake 29:42.00
258. Helen Goddard 31:16.01
259. Fiona Seabrook 31:24.00

Web Ed took part in a blisteringly hot Deal Dinosaur 10K last Sunday. In a race that saw many particpants fall victim to the heat, a potter round in 1.09.29.

Next up in Sussex is the Newick Will Page 10K on Bank Holiday weekend. Two Waddies though are making the long journey north this weekend to take part in the Great warford 10 Mile race near Alderley Edge in Cheshire.

Must be barking!

Weald Ridge Run

2008-07-26T13:16:00.001Z

While the Summer Handicap route is still fresh in everybody's memory, Peter has offered everybody the opportunity to re-live the final 1.7 miles of the route on the Annual Weald Ridge Run 2008!

This year's Weald Ridge Run will take place at 10am on Sunday 31st August 2008 in place of the usual Sunday Club Run. The run starts from Peter's house a6t Weald Ridge, High Street, Ticehurst, Wadhurst, East Sussex, TN5 7HT.

Note this is a run - not a race!

It is a circular route of just over 10k which proceeds down Ticehurst High Street, along Lower Platts, past the Cherry Tree and Dale Hill to Rosemary Lane, down to Bewl and then follows the South Shore along the Round Bewl and Bewl 15 route, past Tinkers Marsh, the Fisherman's Car Park and the Nature Reserve and up Burnt Lodge Lane, past Albert's house and then left along Vineyard Lane back to Weald Ridge.

Peter says "For the last 2 years, Lisa has been known to get out her baking tins and quantities of cake have been consumed on the terrace at Weald Ridge, to help replace the burnt calories!

Everybody is welcome and I look forward to seeing you then."

Chairman spotted on new Waddie recruiting drive

2008-07-26T12:35:00.001Z

Hastings Relays

2008-07-26T11:54:00.007Z

The Hastings Relays will be taking place on Wednesday 6th August at 6.45pm. This is a multi-terrain 1 mile course at William Parker Sports College, Parkstone Road, Hastings. Registration is from 5.45 at the Club House alongside the track.

Each team consists of 4 Runners.

There will be 5 legs with all the Teams running in the last leg together. The cost of entry is £6 per team.

There are prizes for:

1st Overall Team
1st Ladies Team
1st Mens and Ladies Veteran Teams (mixed teams allowed and no age limit)
Under 17 Junior Boys
Under 17 Junior Girls

The Team Captains will arrange the Teams in due course, but if you plan to attend and want to be included in the Teams, please let Peter Burfoot know and he will pass on any names to the Team Captains.

Last night saw the 18th running of the Wedding Day 7K. Two Waddies made the journey, with Barry Gilbert clocking up 36.35 and Martin Burke a pedestrian 44.51, which included a five minute stop for a natter with an old friend!

New photos have just emerged from the Club's Box Brownie showing some of the leading lights at this year's Bewl 15.

Below - race winner Phillip Sanger from Epsom & Ewell Harriers

Below: The Ladies winner Katie Moore from Brighton & Hove AC.

More summer racing results

2008-07-23T05:48:00.002Z

Waddies continue to potter around the south east rrpresenting the club at events.

A couple of Waddies made the journey into Kent to take part in the Cliffe Woods 10k on 13th July. This is a Gold graded event and with a field of around 500 was a model of good organisation. The only problem was the almost unbearable heat which slowed the field down dramatically.

344 59:45 Siobhan Burke
375 1:03:07 Martin Burke

A decent sized delegation also made the relatively short distance to Rye last Friday to take part in first race in the Rye Summer Classic Series, The 10K event took place in cool conditions and with a strong headwind.

47 43:46 Peter Burfoot
49 43:53 Shane Last
72 48:16 Albert Kemp
80 49:10 Andy Pain
140 1:02:17 Janet Drake
155 1:21:21 Sally Toll

Finally WebEd took to the lanes of Essex last Sunday for the TTG Brentwood 10K. Billed as a dreadfully hilly 10K, advice from regulars was to take it really easy to prepare for two enormous hills at 6K and 8K. So, pottering off at a pace that would allow a chance to get up these two hills (one of which was described on the RW Forum as Everest-like), the 6K mountain was reached and conquered without me even knowing I'd got there! It was all an urban myth perpetuated by runners who are used to the flatlands of Essex. I'd realised this too late and by the time I'd reached the mild hill at 8K I was 10 minutes of my 10K pace!!So, it was just a training run really - finished in 1.04.37!!

This Friday night sees a cracking event that will have a couple or more waddies in attendance. Its the Wedding Day 10K - and well worth the journey to Bushey Park for those interested.
Good luck to all those runners competing in the Club Summer Handicap at Barnfield tomorrow.

Peter

Bewl 15 - more news

2008-07-11T13:20:00.004Z

Congratulations to those Waddies both male and female who ran in the Bewl 15 last Sunday. The weather and ground conditions combined to bring about a fast race - this despite the ground being rutted and hard. The threatened rain had held off before the race but affected all but the fastest runners towards the end.

Our commiserations go to Lady Captain Lynn Hayes who had pain in her knee at an early stage which came on again and worsened when another runner caught Lynn's foot. Lynn desperately tried to hold on in the race knowing that if she retired, there would be too few Waddettes to form a Team. Eventually Lynn reluctantly retired from the race.

The Results:-

11 1:28:05 Ciaran Osborn
63 1:38:04 Michael Mackay
69 1:38:45 Mark Waring
110 1:43:59 Helen Goddard
115 1:44:10 Derek Harrison
132 1:46:58 Myles White
178 1:50:47 Cathy Hall
369 2:07:22 Tony Gates

Well done to all!

Its all quiet this weekend in Sussex, although a trio of Waddies and waddettes will be making the trip to Rochester for the Cliffe Wood 10K.

Two Friday night events in the offing. next Friday sees the first race in the annual Rye Summer Series which takes place on a fast and flat course through Rye Harbour. Entry details here.

And Waddies will be making an annual trip to Bushy Park in London on Friday 25th for a cracking event. The Wedding Day 7K is a fun event that attracts a mix of club, fun and eleite athletes to run over a 7K distance through the Park. A delightful event that focuses on the social side as much as the running side, with a bar and barbecue both well used.

And that distance of 7K usually means a pb for many entrants!

Bewl 15 results

2008-07-07T06:56:00.003Z

Well done to everybody yesterday for helping to make the 2008 Bewl 15 such a success.

Once again, we enjoyed a record entry, record number of finishers and a new course record. The weather doesn't seem to have taken the edge off the day - and comments we have received so far seem to indicate that everybody enjoyed themselves.

Photographs of the event are now available to order online from Digimoments.

We're also keen to see comments on the Runners World Bewl Forum and for those who took part to add their rating of the event at the Runners World site - go to http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/events/ratingsall.asp?P=1&ugn=425&year=2008&en=39219&v=2&sp=

A full set of results have been emailed to those entrants who gave us a legible email address. If you know of anybody else who would like a copy - email martin@nice-work.org.uk. We'll also get them on to the Waddie website asap.

Thank you once again to all Waddies who helped out for their support and help in making the day such a success.

Bewl 15 report and results

2008-07-04T14:23:00.003Z

Albert's race report on the Bewl 15 follows:

The 9th running of the Bewl 15 on Sunday was an unprecedented success with two runners beating the old course record, the Ladies race course record plus 11 other category records broken and 6 administrative records broken. 18 records in all.

The race started in perfect conditions with a record entry of 660 bolstered by Bewl 15 being promoted to part of the Sussex Grand Prix Running Race Series of 18 races; hence the tremendous upsurge of entries this year. The Runners World ratings shows that bthe race is now an established event and it may well appear in the top 50 races in the UK.

In all a record 571 runners completed the run, comprising 38 teams from throughout the South. The rain held off until 12:15 but did not dampen the spirits of the runners nor the dozens of marshals who patrolled the 14.2 mile race course of a single lap around the spectacular beauty of Bewl Water.

The race winner, setting a new course record of 1 hour 20 minutes and 25 seconds was Philip Sanger of Epsom & Ewell Harriers. Andrew Green from Dartford Road Runners was second in 1:21:25, also within the old record. Third was Geoffrey Gray of Seaford Striders in 1:21:54.

The ladies race was won by Katie Moore from Brighton & Hove AC in a new ladies record time of 1:29:53. Second was Tina Oldenshaw of Paddock Wood AC 1:31:48 and third was Sam Alvarez of Hailsham harriers 1:31:54.

The team award had some controversy as Hastings AC’s team was disqualified from second place for not wearing club vests. The winners of the men’s team was Istead & Ifield with 51 points, second Blackheath & Bromley with 74 points and third Seaford Striders 81 points. The ladies winners were Paddock Wood with a record of 45 points, second were Hailsham Harriers with 77 points and third Horsham Joggers with 83 points.

The male veteran classes were led home by Mats Gedin Arena 80 in 1:24:38 and the ladies by Tina Oldenshaw. The male and lady senior and vet class winners were each presented with their prize, a Paramo running jacket by Paramo’s marketing Director Catherine Whitehead.

Despite the gruelling conditions the standard of runners was much improved over 200. Michael Mackay, one of the runners, said “the standard is high this year as I was 63rd but on equivalent time I would have been 24th”.

Andy Southern commented “you are mad to run the Bewl 15 but you would be mad not to”. Mackay also commented “Bewl 15 is second only to the Flora London Marathon for its superb organisation”.

The results highlights are based on 1 trophy per winner of the All Senior Men and All Senior ladies:

All Men:

1st Philip Sanger - Epsom & Ewell 1:21:25 - course record
2nd Andrew Green - Dartford RR 1:21:25
3rd Geoffrey Gray - Seaford Striders 1:21:54

All Senior Men:

1st James Tomlinson - unattached 1:22:34
2nd Mick Barrable - Tonbridge AC 1:23:59
3rd Louis Taub - Brighton & Hove 1:26:32

All Vet Men:

1st Mats Gedin - Arena 80 1:24:37
2nd Raymond Pearce - Istead & Isfield 1:27:00
3rd Andy Tucker - Blackheath & Bromley 1:29:41

Male Vet 1

1st Andy Tucker - Blackheath & Bromley 1:29:41

Male Vet 2
1st Mats Gedin - Arena 80 1:24:37 – course record

Male Vet 3

1st Des White - Paddock Wood 1:34:28

Male Vet 4

1st Walter Hill - Crawley AC 1:34:49 – course record

Male Vet 5

1st Clive Beavais - Ranelagh Harriers 1:38:05 – course record

Male Vet 6

1st Mike Foord - Hastings Runners 1:54:24

Male Vet 7

1st John Holdstock - Fittleworth Flyers 1:58:20 – course record

Men’s team

1st Istead & Ifield 51 points

All Ladies

1st Katie Moore – Brighton & Hove 1:29:53 – course record
2nd Tina Oldenshaw – Paddock Wood 1:31:48
3rd Sam Alvarez – Hailsham Harriers 1:31:54

All Senior Ladies

1st Tracy Ranson – Springfield Striders 1:37:21
2nd Sarah-Jane Gaffney – Tunbridge Wells Harriers 1:47:49
3rd Angela Hames – Istead & Ifield 1:48:59

All Vet Ladies

1st Tina Oldenshaw – Paddock Wood 1:31:48 –course record
2nd Sam Alvarez – Hailsham Harriers 1:31:54
3rd Sally Musson – Tonbridge AC 1:40:44

Lady Vet 1

1st Sally Musson – Tonbridge AC 1:40:44

Lady Vet 2

1st Tina Oldenshaw – Paddock Wood 1:31:48

Lady Vet 3

1st Ann Sinnett - Haywards Heath Harriers 1:40:52

Lady Vet 4

1st Jenny Castle – Fittleworth Flyers 1:59:59

Lady Vet 5

1st Sally Musson - Tonbridge AC 1:40:44 – course record

Lady Vet 6

1st Brenda Styles – Crowborough Runners 2:26:18 – course record

Lady Vet 7

1st Greta Goodall – Road Runners Club 3:06:05

Lady Vet 8

1st Judy Burston – Phoenix Striders 2:34:02 – course record

Ladies Team

1st Paddock Wood 45 points – course record

I would like to thank the enthusiasm of the Wadhurst Runners and their friends and family for their tremendous support particularly as the weather tuned wet and chilly. The support from the runners was fantastic and ensured a sell out as well as a quality field.

Many thanks too for the support of the sponsors Ben Greig Motors, Nikwax, Paramo, Wadhurst Physiotherapy, all of Wadhurst and Nice Work of Peasmarsh plus local farmers and residents who all helped made the race possible.

Calling all relay runners

2008-07-04T14:23:00.000Z

The Hastings Relays will be taking place on Wednesday 6th August at 6.45pm. It is a multi-terrain 1 mile course at William Parker Sports College, Parkstone Road, Hastings. Registration is from 5.45 at the Club House alongside the track. Each team consists of 4 Runners.

There will be 5 legs with all the Teams running in the last leg together. The cost of entry is £6 per team.

There are prizes for:

1st Overall Team
1st Ladies Team
1st Mens and Ladies Veteran Teams (mixed teams allowed and no age limit)
Under 17 Junior Boys
Under 17 Junior Girls

The Team Captains will arrange the Teams in due course, but if you plan to attend and want to be included in the Teams, please let Peter Burfoot know and he will pass on any names to the Team Captains.

All set for Sunday?

2008-07-04T14:19:00.003Z

The 2008 Bewl 15 2 is almost upon us and the entries are coming in fast and furious.

The current number of confirmed entries is approaching 500 and the race capacity and cut off point is 600 runners.

The race will also have a full compliment of 20 VIP’s garnered from last year’s category winners, record holders and other deserving runners. The course marshalling has been enhanced and there will be water, sponges and energy sweets in 4 places and sports drink at 3 water stations. All finishers will receive a goody bag and a medal. The medal’s are gold for the first 100, silver for the next 250 and the balance bronze.

Paramo of Wadhurst have joined the growing list of sponsors of this popular event and have offered to provide four prizes of a Paramo running jacket or smock to the colour and size requested by the winners of the male Senior race (that is age 18 to 39); lady senior race (18 to 34) and each of the male and lady veteran races. Catherine Whitehead of Paramo will be the honoured starter and will present the prizes at the Award ceremony which follows the race finish.

All Waddies should have their duties by now - so see you on Sunday.

With your cakes!

Heathfield 10K

2008-07-04T14:14:00.004Z

Congratulations to all the Waddies who took part in the Heathfield 10k yesterday. The course is noted for its hills, second only to Crowborough in this respect, so pbs are always going to be unlikely.

Michael Mackay led the team home on a fine breezy day. The results are:

37 Michael Mackay 42:12
64 Eddie Wattenbach 44:51
66 Peter Burfoot 45:06
89 Shane Last 47:12
95 Cathy Hall 47:54
144 David Jones 52:30
162 Melinda Mackay 53:36
166 Anthony Gates 54:01
192 Bonita Backhouse 57:40
252 Siobhan Burke 1:09:08
253 Charlotte Petkovic 1:09:22

Beyons the Arctic Circle

2008-07-04T14:09:00.002Z

Albert sends in his report of running in the Midnight Sun Marathon - some 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle

"My internal alarm clock woke me at 3:46 on Saturday morning and I
immediately realised my troublesome hamstrings were painful. After a hearty
brekkie I then rushed around looking after my sheep before the journey to
Tromso which is the largest town in the Arctic Circle. The locals call
Tromso phonetically "Trumsa".

My first dilemma was should I run at all? The group organisers Martin and Cathy Burke of Nice Work advised me to drop to the 1/2 marathon. As ever I
ignored the sensible approach. The Nice Work party was 21 persons of which eight
elected for the marathon, with the others in the half and 10K. Naturally we all sized each other up to see who the fast buck (and buckesses were). I had worried whether or not I would make it within 4 hours, if at all.

On arrival I tried to rest but all too soon I was standing on the start line
for an 8.30pm start. I had another dilemma. That is what to wear. It was
raining lightly and the sun was hidden by cloud. The temperature was just
bearable for a vest but what would it be like in 3+ hours? I chose vest only
(don't worry, I wore shorts too but had forgotten running socks so had to
break rule no.1 by wearing day socks). My hamstrings were painful at the
start.

The start is friendly and has a circuit of the town before a grinding rise
all of 44 metres to run over the Tromso bridge. I was overtaken by a couple
of the team and could not afford to match their pace. The route was
undulating following the coast road for 10K and returns via the bridge via a
long uphill route. It was 12 miles at this point.

I was surprised to see by my Garmin that I ran 07:59 minute miles for 9
straight miles (I thought the watch had failed). Then 8:0 dead for 3 miles
but then I lost 1 second per mile after the undulating bits. Interestingly
the race was measured in kilometres on a count down basis marked 42.195, 42,
41 kilometres and so on. Very useful to know where you are.

Over the bridge, back through the town to the airport for another 10K out
and back. Rather boring especially as the route was undulating but fairly
straight. At least one could see ahead as it was still daylight. The
hamstrings were playing up and very painful. The last turn seemed to be
distant but suddenly I was on the road home.

It was good to see another Waddie - Barry Gilbert and the Nice Work team on the
outward track as the 1/2 marathon runners started at 10.30. It was
disconcerting to have the fast 1/2 marathon runners storming past at a near
sprint.

Then my calves at 31K started to threaten to cramp so I developed the well
known Kemp shuffle to try to stop them pulling. At 37K I was beginning to
think the unthinkable - dropping out for the first time in 33 years of
running. Hang on a minute? Is that Justin from the Nice Work team ahead? Bloody hell,
try to keep going lad, I thought. I whizzed past with a shout to him of
encouragement; except I had got his name wrong - I heard someone shout
Justin as the locals had a running list.

The course spectators were thin in numbers but all were enthusiastic in
encouragement shouting hoy ya, hoy ya, hoy ya. Nowegian for 'urry up Harry -
wer're goin to the pub.

38K, Dig in boy I thought. Justin may be close. 38K pain, cold, no sun. 39K
more pain. 40K but my Garmin says 41K but sign says 2K to go. 41K pain but I
will beat 4 hours even if I walk - but I carried on the Kemp shuffle. 42K
and the finish was somewhere ahead but Martin Burke of Nice Work was there
to encourage to finish. The pain was excruciating made worse by the uphill
finish. Made it in 3:38:49, well within my estimate (the Garmin said 26.36
miles). A blanket was wrapped round me as, boy oh boy it was chilly and
then it was off to the pub.

It felt so strange being 00:08:49 in the morning and it was daylight. It was
even lighter at 3am when we retired, exhausted but jubilant.

Would I do it again. Yes of course - once my hamstrings forgive me.

Do it one day and enjoy!

Midsummer Madness

2008-07-04T14:05:00.003Z

The midsummer evening light heralded the 34 runners as they waited to be started on Thursday in small groups for the Royal Oak Peasmarsh Midsummer Hash.

After a short stretch on the main road, the 4.3 mile course wound its way on lanes northwards (and uphill) to Iden before winding its way back down again. The runners raced largely blind - they had no idea of their position relative to the others apart from those in their starting group.

Martin clocked in their times as they returned. It was a pleasant evening, neither warm nor chilly, with a brisk breeze.

The Waddies were trying to to retain their title as winning team of 2007, but lost it due the speed of the Hastings Runners who turned out in force. The Waddie Team was decimated by injuries and absentees. However we were not disgraced as Lynn Hayes was First Lady.

5 BURFOOT, Peter 29.37
7 HAYES, Lynn 30.31
8 LAST, Shane 30.31
13 GATES, Anthony 33.15
15 KEMP, Albert 33.52
18 PAIN, Andrew 35.12
21 BURKE, Liam 36.00
33 WRENN, Sara 43.54
34 TOLL, Sally 58.28

Afterwards, there was a barbecue, free to the Runners, and the Lynn and Martin Hayes Musical Combo entertained Runners and Supporters alike in the Pub, rounding off a very pleasant evening.

Hopefully we can attract more Waddies next year to try and get the team title back from those pesky Hastings Runners.

The South Downs - or should that be the North ... Oh which way has Albert gone now???

2008-07-04T14:01:00.002Z

Albert reports on his experiences at this years South Downs Relay.

"I had an enjoyable South Down’s Relay running with five Crowborough Vet lads – Kevin,John, Peter, James and Roger.. The race started at 7am so it meant a 4am rise to look after my animals before departing at 5.15.

I ran leg 2 from Jevington Church to Bo-Peep car park, which is 6 miles in a time of 55:06. This meant a climb up to the top of the South Downs to the ridge of the Long Man of Wilmington, a drop to Alfriston and a further climb to the top before a swift downhill section to the finish. I was 50 seconds faster than 2004.

My next stage was leg 8 from the north of Shoreham on Sea to Washington. This is another 6 mile leg in a time of 57:25. This is another very hilly section with the pretty but hard climb up to the top of the Downs overlooking Steyning Bowl and continues past Chantenbury Ring. A lovely but tiring run. I was 13 seconds slower than 2004, so at this stage I was 40 seconds better off.

The wheels fell off on the 3rd and last leg, no. 14, which is Harting Down NT Park to the Queen Elizabeth 2nd Country Park. This is by far the easiest leg of just 4 miles but took all of 59:25. It was not wheels that fell off really just tiredness and very painful hamstrings. Due to stupidity brought on by tiredness and pain I took a wrong turn just before the finish and ended up in the valley to the South of the finish which meant a 2.8 mile climb up the steep trails and road. I was 26 minutes slower than 2004.

Still the team did not come last and we were within the cut off time and the team finished before 8pm. After a drink or two and a BBQ we wearily returned and fell into bed at 1am. A thoroughly enjoyable day which I would like to repeat without getting lost!

The Waddies should put their names down for a team for 2009, although as this is a very popular relay, they have a waiting list."

Thanks for the report Albert.

I notice that the race finished at 8 00 pm and you got home at 1.00 am. Did you get lost going home too?

Marathon success - and more

2008-07-04T13:48:00.003Z

Waddies continue to travel the globe in search of running success.

Kathie and Tony Gates took their lives into theior own hands by venturing north of the border to take part in the Edinburgh Marathon.

Tony came away with a pb time of 4.34.18 and Kathie recorded her second fastest marathon with a time of 4.46.02 - well done to both.

And congratulations to to Derek Harrison who travelled even further. Derek took part in the world famous 86.8 km Comrades Marathon in South Africa.

Derek finished the event in 8 hours 53.26.

Meanwhile closer to home it was a quiet Sunday and as far as we know, the only Waddie racing in this country was Peter. Peter once again took on the challenge of the 25th North Downs Run which is a 30km mainly cross country course with ascents and descents of about 1972 feet each! Thankfully he managed to stay on both feet this year!!

The race was voted the 3rd best by Runners World last year and Peter says "I have to report that, delightful as it was to run through poppy fields and woods in good conditions, I have yet properly to master the event, which is a magnificent race."

Peter finished 146th in a time of 2hrs 50.23

4th June Worthing 10K

2008-07-04T13:32:00.002Z

Congratulations to all the Waddies who made the long journey to Worthing last Wednesday evening! In cool and dry conditions a number of the participating Waddies got pbs - some by a significant margin. So, well done to all.

The outward leg was particularly fast but a westerly breeze greeted the runners as they turned round the cone near the pier to return along the seafront, making the final leg a bit harder.

The results were:-

114 Eddie Wattenbach 41.57
130 Peter Burfoot 42.29
138 Linda Hayes 42.44
169 Shane Last 43.51
213 Cathy Hall 45.25
230 Albert Kemp 46.07
232 Anthony Gates 46.01
464 Bonita Backhouse 53:11
541 Helen Smith 56.59
579 Maya Bishop 59.23
614 Janet Drake 1.05.32
618 Sara Wrenn 1.06.24
629 Sally Toll 1.18.25

After the race many of the Waddies celebrated in traditional style with a fish and chip supper.

Seaford Half Marathon

2008-06-03T07:26:00.001Z

Peter Burfoot reports on this weekend's Seaford Half marathon:

"A small team of three male Waddies tackled the increasingly popular Seaford Half Marathon. This race starts on the Seafront and travels inland the short distance to Bishopstone before leaving the roads and rising steeply up the Downs. It is mainly single file on this stretch and there was a queue for the 1st stile. After a downhill burst there is a long climb to a col on the ridge of the Downs at around 550ft.

Every uphill is followed by a downhill and this starts gently soon after the the summit but gets ever steeper as you descend over a perilous flinty track down into Alfriston. At the steepest point and just before rejoining the tarmac, Club President Roger, camera in hand was supporting with Christine, waiting for their daughter who made her debut at Eastbourne in March.

The pace slows as the course meanders along banks of the Cuckmere partly between nettles on a narrow path, slippery after recent rain. In this section numerous stiles, kissing gates, muddy areas and cowpats have to be negotiated and you pass 1 of only 2 of the mile markers, I saw - at 8 miles.

Roger and Christine again greeted us as we crossed the A259 at the Golden Galleon while the runners prepared for the final hill which is punctuated by the 11 mile marker - an assault on the 282 ft Seaford Head, before taking their lives into their hands on the final helter skelter drop to the Seafront and the race along the Prom to the Finish.

The rain held off for the race but the cloud cover kept this normally hot race quite temperate this year. There were water stations aplenty, strategically placed, and squash and other things were also offered at some of them.

The results were split into male and female and the positions were also allocated on that basis:

Male results

86 1:53:47 Peter Burfoot
121 1:59:07 Albert Kemp
176 2:06:51 David Jones

Don't forget that Wednesday sees the resumption of the SGP series with the flat Worthing 10k, followed on 22nd June by the hilly Heathfield 10k.

Waddies on the road

2008-06-03T07:25:00.002Z

Congratulations to Mark Waring for completing his second Stockholm Marathon in 3:34:20 and improving on his previous time by over 18 minutes in 24/25 deg C heat on Saturday.

Don't forget the Midsummer Hash!!

2008-06-03T07:21:00.002Z

Just a reminder that the Peasmarsh Hash takes place on Thursday June 19th at the Royal Oak, in Rye Foreign near Peasmarsh.

The event is a friendly race over a distance of around 4 miles. In addition to the race, there's a free barbecue for particpants - plus live music from one of the Waddies!!

Not to be missed - the race starts at 7 pm.

If you are going to attend, drop WebEd an email martin@nice-work.org.uk

Canterbury and Bexhill

2008-06-03T07:16:00.003Z

Recent results are now in from two events attended by a clutch of Waddies.

David Jones and Barry Gilbert travelled to Kent for the Canterbury Half Marathon:

Place Time Name

258th 1.58.18 David Jones
402nd 2.14.59 Barry Gilbert

And last Wednesday saw the first in the annual summer series of race along the seafront in Bexhill. Well done to all those who took part.

39th 21.03 Peter Burfoot
41st 21.09 Linda Hayes
62nd 23.25 Albert Kemp
133rd 35.42 Sally Toll

Oooo la la - the Juniors strike Gold!

2008-06-03T07:07:00.004Z

The following story appeared in last week's Kent and Sussex Courier.

Athletics:

Junior members of East Sussex running club, Wadhurst Runners have cause to celebrate after winning three categories in the Montreuil Ramparts 10k in France.

The beautiful walled town of Montreuil-Sur-Mer was the scene of battle in the annual Montreuil 10k Ramparts race. The junior members battled through heat and torrential rain to win their three respective categories.

Thirteen-year-old Liam Burke, successfully defended his crown for the second year in a row to win the trophy for his age group. Siobhan Burke, competing in her first 10k won the Junior Ladies trophy, while Oscar Smith aged three won the 'Mini's' 600m race.

The 10k course meanders down from the ramparts through this historic French town, and then runs the course of the river before ascending the cobbled streets back up-hill to the finish in the town's square.

The weather ranged from heat at the start to torrential rain at the end; making the last two miles of the course particularly tricky and slippery.

The Wadhurst Juniors travelled as part of a larger running group with Peasmarsh based events company, Nice Work.

Well done Siobhan, Liam and Oscar.

"I was OK until I reached the 99.8 mile checkout!"

2008-06-03T07:00:00.004Z

And so said Ed McKinney!

Ed was taking part in the Grand Union Canal Race - a gruelling run from Birmingham to London along the canal towpath. The race is run over a distance of some 145 miles and Ed finished the race in a magnificent 12th place in a time of 36 hours 9 minutes (was that a pb Ed?).

Ed's report follows:

"The time's not too impressive when you actually do the sums but I'm just relieved to have reached the finish. It's an awful long way !!!

I was going OK to the checkpoint at 99.8 miles and had just overtaken a few people to get up to 7th position but when I left the checkpoint 15 mins later (at 4am) I just fell apart completely. I started to go down the canal the wrong way before someone stopped me and then I started hallucinating with sheer tiredness. My feet began to hurt so much that every step shot pain up my legs and by 104 miles I couldn't run any further so was left with the prospect of walking a further 40 miles in pouring rain and even that was excruciatingly painful.

At the 120 mile checkpoint I arrived shivering with cold and prepared to drop out but they got me warmed up with some cups of tea and food and lots of clean clothes and forced me out again. A friend from work turned up with perfect timing to walk the next 13 miles with me and try to keep me focussed but it was just interminable.

After covering the first 100 miles in just over 22 hours, those last 45 miles took me over 13 hours and it felt like twice that long.

Not so much a run as 36 hours of torture!"

Well done Ed - but the words 'barking' and 'mad' do spring to mind!

Horsham, Larkfield ... and Montreuil!

2008-05-21T05:13:00.002Z

A good clutch of Waddies and Waddettes ventured over to Horsham on 11th May for the Horsham 10k Sussex Grand Prix Race. If its not one thing with Horsham, its another. In 2006 the race was run in a deluge, the bridleway section was pretty well fooded and Melinda fell and hurt her ankle. In 2008 there was a haetwave and the major problem seemed to be thirst. There were water stations at 1km, 5 km and at the Finish, but the Runners World Ratings contributors were saying there should have been more. Most 10ks of course only have one water station at midway with more at the finish.

Ciaran led the team home and prizes were won by Lyn Hayes (1stW45 and Helen Neary (1st W55). Eddie Wattenbach scored a notable 10k pb and for a few it was a debut race. The results:

Place Time Name

8 36:48 Ciaran Osborn
77 43:22 Eddie Wattenbach
80 43:41 Peter Burfoot
118 46:12 Lyn Hayes
166 48:19 Albert Kemp
175 48:40 Tim Clements
202 50:10 Cathy Hall
209 50:22 John Billingham
213 50:26 Tony Gates
238 52:00 Fergus Randolph
251 53:08 Helen Neary
297 55:55 Bonita Backhouse
303 56:16 David Jones
346 59:28 Kathy Gates
405 1:05:54 Helen Smith
416 1:11:22 Sara Wrenn

On 18th May Martin led a Team of Burkes to the annual Ramparts Race in Montreuil sur Mer, close to Le Touquet. Liam and Siobhan excelled, both collecting trophies for their efforts. In torrential rain this multi terrain course provided a real challenge with grass, tarmac, trail, cobbles, hills, a tunnel and some very steep climbs up the ramparts of this pretty French town. Liam successfully defended his crown in his children's age group and collected another trophy as well as a traditional from Monsieur Mayor; Siobhan, competing in her first 10K won the Junior Ladies trophy. Oscar Smith swept the board in his age group in the Mini Race whilst his mum, Helen, scored a pb. The results of the 10K were:

1.02.59 Helen Smith
1.03.00 Siobhan Burke
1.04.21 Martin Burke

Meanwhile, Cathy Burke flew the Hastings AC flag at Larkfield in 56:06, where she was joined by some Waddies and a sole Waddette in the Larkfield 10k. This was an interesting race of contrasts centred on the Leybourne Lakes, but starting and finishing in an industrial estate. It was cool and sunny with a moderate northerly breeze, predominately flat with some inclines at the start and finish, road bridges to climb in the centre section and footpath sections around the Lakes. The sting in the tail was in the last 400m when a narrow tarmac path raered up a steep bank so all the runners were still trying to get their breath back before sprinting to the line.

The results were:

95 44:40 Peter Burfoot
181 50:03 Tony Gates
220 52:34 David Jones
253 55:37 Kathie Gates

May Day Running

2008-05-07T15:45:00.003Z

Waddies were taking part in races near and far over the weekend. WebEd and Cathy made the long trip down to Luxembourg to take part in the Night Run on saturday evening. This event is now starting to make its mark on the European marathon circuit - and a record field of 8,000 took part in three events - a full marathon, a half marathon and a mini marathon of 7K.

Those that have taken part rate this event as a close second to London for atmosphere and crowd support - and Saturday's race was up to its usal standard. If you really want to do an overseas race with plenty of buzz and excitement, you should take a look at this one.

Cathy Burke was the sole finisher, completing the course as a training run in 2.29.46. WebEd was the first Waddie, first brit - and, indeed, the first competitor back in the magnificent national arena. His calf pinged after 800 metres but his walk of honour over the finishing line after around 5 minut4es did generate one round of applause.

On Sunday, the Club President assisted by the Vice Captain led a small party of Waddies plus a prospective new member and Tom Tielemans a Dutch work experience student on the 6 mile Bluebell Run. This was very muddy in places and a bridge was found to have been washed away, so the runners had to ford a stream. Later a bridge which has previously been down for a number of years was found to have been replaced, though this did not have to be crossed. Towards the end of the run which was uneventful, but very enjoyable, the group came across another band of Waddies coming in the other direction just out of Wadhurst Park and gazing at a map on a stand.

This band had set off from Uplands earlier on the 11 mile Bluebell Run under the leadership of the Chairman, well-known for his navigation skills, who reports:

"The 11 mile Bluebell run ended up as a solid 13 miler; give or take a spit or two except we were so dehydrated.

At Chittenhurst we realised a puppy was following us and David Jones decided to take the little critter back to its owner. We then tried to negotiate a swap of David for the puppy but the owner would not budge. At this stage we all tried to delicately negotiate the mud; except Fergie decided to blast the way through, with predictable results. We were OK up to the point in the woods where we passed another glorious bluebell floral display; just before the mud and a right hander I recognised up to this point but we failed to find the wobbly bridge.

Before the Merrieweathers House we decided, after a team discussion to head for what we thought would be the Wadhurst direction to get back to Wadhurst Park but could not find a rear access so we returned to the Merrieweathers route. This wasted 1 mile.

We then continued and I recognised the next focal point; a collection of run down farm buildings at the end of the muddiest section of all but after passing the next batch of expensive looking buildings we lost the correct track and ended up asking directions on the only souls seen in the entire latter section. Eventually we tipped up, grossly muddy apart from David who had a speck on the bottom of his shoes, at the Eastern side of Lake Street, so we knew the rest of the way home. It took us 2:30hours and were all very dehydrated as we did not carry water, stupidly. We did enjoy the run and had a good laugh and we cannot wait for next year to repeat the exercise."

......Meanwhile on the Cuckoo Trail, Tony and Kathie Gates were enjoying a 20 mile training run.

On Monday, Peter Burfoot and Tom Tielemans travelled to Whitstable where Tom did a sterling task handing out Bewl Flyers to the runners and Peter ran the 2008 Bailey's Nissan Whitstable 10k which is a Kent Grand Prix Bronze Graded event.

It was sunny and warm with an easterly breeze which cooled the runners as they headed into the wind on the outward leg to Hampton and followed them back along the seafront to Whitstable resulting in some overheating.

Peter finished the event in 41:20 - 1st Male V55 with a pb.

.....Meanwhile in Maidstone, Tony and Kathie Gates completed a 10 mile training run.

Hastings 5

2008-05-02T16:01:00.012Z

The Waddies continue to punch above their weight and already showing promise in the new season being 4th overall, out of 20 teams. The men are 4th overall, the vet men 2nd, ladies 3rd and vet ladies 5th. Early days yet with a long season in front of them.

Waddies turned out in force for the Hastings 5 mile road race last Sunday. This is the 4th Sussex Grand Prix race out of 18. The conditions were ideal with rain and wind holding off so that the short flat run along the Promenade was enjoyed by most.

The ladies, which included Lyn Hayes, Melinda Mackay and Helen Neary, held their own with a fine 5th place and showed the way for the men’s team, comprising Ciaran Osborn, Mike Pain and Michael Mackay, who were 6th. The top performers were Osborn in 14th place, Hayes being 1st lady vet 2 and Peter Burfoot who was 3rd male vet 4. Other notable places were Neary 4th lady vet 5 and Albert Kemp 5th male vet5.

Personal bests fell like confetti with 11 of the 23 finishers gaining their PB’s. These were Eddie Wattenbach, Peter Burfoot, Lin Hayes, Tim Clements, Tony Gates, Andy Pain, Barry Gilbert, Randolph Ferguson, Siobhan Burke, Janet Drake, Sara Wrenn and Sally Toll.

The results were:

014 Ciaran Osborn 28.54
033 Mike Pain 30.45
060 Michael Mackay 32.24
075 Peter Burfoot 33.13
096 Eddie Wattenbach 34.15
105 Lyn Hayes 34.40
152 Albert Kemp 37.36
158 Tim Clements 37.50
176 Tony Gates 39.03
181 Andy Pain 39.19
185 Barry Gilbert 39.35
190 Fergus Randolph 39.52
199 Melinda Mackay 40.17
206 Helen Neary 40.37
221 Bonita Backhouse 41.13
259 Martin Burke 43.15
274 David Jones 43.38
316 Liz Mander 47.10
346 Charlie Petkovic 51.04
348 Janet Drake 51.38
355 Siobhan Burke 52.12
357 Sara Wrenn 52.14
386 Sally Toll 1.03.08

The next Sussex Grand Prix race is the Horsham 10k on May 11th, though some Waddies will be running over the Bank Holiday weekend. a couple make the long journey to Luxembourg to take part in the ING Night Run - a marathon and half marathon run through this pretty country.

Finally, Wadhurst Runners hope to capitalize on their modest success and are looking for runners of all abilities to help bolster the team. New runners are given help and assistance with their training, where needed. The club is also very keen to have a regular training run for those with children on Mondays at 09.30, during term times so that young mum’s in particular can have the opportunity to run and socialize as a group .

Any local runners should contact Albert on 01580 200024 or email albert@barnfieldkemp.demon.co.uk

Awards Dinner News

2008-05-02T15:59:00.002Z

Last week saw the club celebrate its 10th Annual Awards Dinner, held this year at the Queen’s Head in Hawkhurst.

The Chairman briefly outlined the progress made by the club during the year. 2007 saw another period of growth and success on the road and he complimented members for their efforts in ensuring even more achievements for the club including:

Tony Gate’s 100% record in the Sussex Grand Prix - taking part in all 18 SGP races.

The club finished 6th overall (2006 12th) with the ladies 4th, men 6th, vet ladies 5th and vet men 6th. In total the club won 7 SGP Awards and we had 9 men in the top 100 plus 11 ladies. Both men and ladies had 9 runners completing all 8 scoring races.

The President proposed a vote of thanks to the Chairman for all his hard work and said the club has reached new heights under his leadership.

The Club Awards were:

1. Club Champion - Kevin Parkinson Cup for Senior Men – Tim Clements.
2. Club Champion - Di Scott Cup for Senior Lady – Charlotte (Charlie) Petkovic
3. Road Runner Champion – Senior Men – Tim Clements.
4. Road Runner Champion - Senior Lady – Kathie Gates
5. Tony Sorrell Cup for Vet Men - Mike Pain.
6. Sara Wrenn Cup for Senior Lady – Lyn Hayes
7. Albert Kemp Marathon Cup - Men - Ed McKinney
8. Albert Kemp Marathon Cup - Ladies - Rachel Davies
9. Roger Smith Standards Cup - 1st Peter Burfoot 29 points; 2nd Albert Kemp 28 points; 3rd Helen Neary 17 points
10. Handicap Champion - Men - David Burfoot; Ladies - Lyn Hayes
11. Juniors’ Champion - Male - Liam Burke; Female – 1st Hannah Bates; 2nd Hayley Mackay; 3rd Amy Mackay

Tribute was paid to the Founding Members of the club when the Waddies were first formed in July, 1999. The survivors are: Robin Heale, Roger Smith, Albert Kemp, Sara Wrenn, Kevin Parkinson, Tony Sorrell, Malcolm Dixon and Glynnis Tucker; of which the sole runners are currently Albert and Sara.

The Alternative Awards then followed and are the Antidote to all known Award Ceremonies:

Foot in Mouth (1) – The Builders Bum Award:
Nominations – Shane last, David Jones and Gary Hall

Winner – David Jones for his immortal words (bear in mind David is a builder) “Look at that white car in front”. David it was a white van – you can tell by the lack of windows!

Most Improved Runner 2007 – Ladies:

Nominations – Janet Drake, Lyn Hayes, Cathy Hall, Kathie Gates and Shane Last.

Winner – Cathy Hall for a remarkable improvement in her training and races

Most Improved Runner – Male:

Nominations – Peter Burfoot, Shane Last, Eddie Wattenbach and Tim Clements

Winner – Shane Last

Golden Anorak Award (a much coveted and eagerly awaited award):

Nominations – Peter Burfoot and Barry Gilbert.

Winner Peter Burfoot who has retained his title

Most Races in 2007 – Nominations Albert Kemp, Peter Burfoot, Cathy Burke and Barry Gilbert

Winner Barry Gilbert with 50+ races to his credit.

Dedication Award – Ladies for trying hard even though they are back packers:

Nominations – Kathie Gates, Sara Wrenn, Janet Drake, Helen Smith and Maya Bishop

Winner Kathie Gates who ran in 15 SGP races

Dedication Award – Men

Nominations – Tony Gates, Tony Sorrell, David Jones and Albert Kemp

Winner – Tony Gates for running all 18 SGP races and ending with a smile

Baring All Award sponsored by Sara Wrenn:

Sara reported when being introduced the member who had his back to her. Whilst taking down his track suit trousers he also removed his shorts. Sara did not know where to put her face but what worries me is that he was pleased to see her.

Winner Barry Gilbert

The SW Cup –The Long Goodbye

Sadly we say good bye to one of our Founder Members. Tony Sorrell has always completed his races nearer the back of the field but has run with enthusiasm and consistency. We wish him well in his retirement to Bexhill

Second Claim Cup – Retained for the second time by Ian Coates

Special Chairman’s Award for Dedication to the Club – Sara Wrenn, a Founding Member, has energetically, efficiently and worked hard for the Waddies without complaint or reward and for many years has undertaken the busy tasks of Club Secretary, Bewl Entries Secretary, Chief Marshall, entry distribution and even found time to attend the recent Exhibition to promote the Club. The accolade is well deserved.

Bus Fare Cup – The most highly sought after cup of all annually presented by the Chairman to the runner who has beaten him in a race but was subsequently slaughtered by him at a later race. The cup symbolically represents the cost of a bus fare home by the unlucky recipient:

Nominations – Eddie Wattenbach – too often to recall all revenge races; Lyn (must stop for a P) at Sussex Beacon and Hastings; Shane Last – it was boring with the frequency of defeats and Peter Burfoot for Seaford (I was ill) ½ Marathon

Winner – To the runner for being slaughtered during the North Downs’ 30 kms Downs Race by allowing the Chairman to sprint past at the 20 kms mark and for the audacity of throwing himself down the muddy wooded slope like United’s Ronaldo. I give you Peter Burfoot.

London Marathon

2008-04-16T09:46:00.004Z

Congratulations to all those who took part in the London Marathon at the weekend - and represented the club so well.

Once again, it was a fantastic event in pretty good weather conditions.

Here are the official results:

Michael Pain 3:10:33
Myles White 3:20:05
Eddie Wattenback 321:46
Peter Burfoot 3:22:53
Cathy Hall 3:31:08
Bonita Backhouse 4:41:47
Clare Roche 4:46:52
Kathie Gates 4:58:05
Catherine Offord 5:15:07

Those who took part would like to thank all those Waddies who came to support their endeavour - as we know, that encouragement really does make a difference, your cheers really made a difference.

Marathon performances

2008-04-14T10:19:00.002Z

Three Waddies made the journey to Paris this weekend to take part in the Marathon.

The French managed their usual shambolic attempt at organising a major sporting event with a chaotic start, poor support around the course and, once again, a bewildering array of non participants allowed to wander freely along the course and amongst runners.

WebEd was feeling particularly agreed because one dog walker (yep!) wandered across my running line with dog lead extended a good 10 yards ... and bang went £300 worth of Garmin caught up in the balsted lead! That incident cost me at least an hour on my time!

Shane had a cracking run despite a nasty injury incurred a couple of weeks ago - and he managed a pb. And congratulations to Albert who managed to get up in time to make the start!

Results from Paris:

Albert Kemp 3.39.01
Shane Last 3.43.06
Martin Burke 5.07.20

Still the weather made for a pleasant run

The importance of eating well

2008-04-01T16:52:00.003Z

Those who know WebEd will be aware of the importance I place on diet and eating correctly. I've been asked many times whether or not I follow a special or a published diet.

Well, after much persuasion, I decided it was time to reveal my inspiration.

It's Delia!

Here's one of my favourite recipes from the great lady.

But talking of diet, I was slightly embarassed to see the picture below scandalously reproduced and distributed amongst certain Waddies over the weekend. For the avoidance of doubt I think I should explain what was happening on the photo. My daughter was proud - as indeed we all were in the WebEd household - to receive the Baden Powell award for Guiding. (Indeed she was the first young lady in the village to receive the award for more than 12 years). Unfortunately the choice of location for the prize giving was right in front of the sausage roll and pork pie supper prepared for proud parents and friends.

You might just detect something occuring in the background for which I can only say I'm truly sorry!!

Paddock Wood

2008-03-31T07:10:00.003Z

A handful of Waddies crossed the border to Paddock Wood yesterday to take part in the Half marathon. This popular event always attracts a big field and, with it's flat-ish course, is an ideal event for a pb.

Results from those Waddies in attendance:

86 Mike Pain 1.24.55
157 Mike Mackay 1.29.04
249 Peter Burfoot 1.33.38
398 Lyn Hayes 1.38.31
565 Albert Kemp 1.43.07
846 Melinda Mackay 1.50.52
909 Tony Gates 1.52.40
1166 Kathie Gates 2.01.19
1315 David Jones 2.08.32
1440 Martin Burke 2.17.04

That's probably the last run out for those running in the two great City Marathons shortly. This Sunday WebEd is joining Albert and Shane running the Paris Marathon - and the week afterwards, of course, its the London Marathon.

Good luck to all those involved.

Well done Ladies!!

2008-03-29T15:23:00.004Z

We've just heard that our Vet ladies have collected a gong from the Hastings Half Marathon. They finished 3rd in the team category - a magnificent achievement in such a prestigious event.

Well done to team members Sam Craven, Melinda Mackay, Helen Nearey and Lyn Hayes.

Amd more warnings about using that treadmill ......

Sussex GP Update

2008-03-27T15:53:00.005Z

Our Chairman has found a spare few hours in his day to study the latest bulletin from the Sussex GP - and here are his musings:

"We have great news. The club is already 4th overall in the Sussex Grand Prix after 2 of 18 races. The ladies are 3rd and the men 4th. The lady vets are 5th and the male vets are 3rd.

Amazing for us but I knew with the quality of our new runners and the build up of some of the existing runners would produce our best ever year. The best positions so far for the club are:

Senior Men - Ciaran 12th Simon 32nd and Mark 38th overall. They are all new runners this year.

Vet men – Shane 10th, Eddie 12th and Albert 13th overall.

Senior Ladies – Kathie Gates 2nd and Nyree 17th overall.

Vet ladies – Cathy Hall 4th, Janet 18th and Lyn 32nd overall. Cathy is our most improved lady this year.

Vet 1 Men - Shane 4th, Eddie 5th and Michael Pain 7th. Shane is our most improved runner this year so far.

Vet 3 Men – Tony Gates 9th.

Vet 4 Men David Jones 13th.

Vet 5 Men – Albert 2nd

Vet 1 ladies – Cathy Hall 2nd.

Vet 2 ladies – Samantha.

Vet 3 ladies – Lyn 6th.

Vet 4 ladies – Janet 2nd.

Vet 5 ladies – Helen 5th

Overall this is superb but of course it is early days and excludes the Hastings Half Marathon. There are still another 15 races and it will all change one way or another."

You'll find the updated league tables if you scroll down and check the column to the right.

Incidentally, its amazing what the hidden cameras can pick up at Uplands ....

Folkestone 10 Mile

2008-03-22T11:16:00.006Z

If you thought Hastings was windy, you should have been in Folkestone on Good Friday for the 25th running of the Folkestone 10 Mile event. Always a popular and well organised race, the wind was very strong - presenting runners with a tough 4 mile run home.

Three Waddies made the journey, with Mike Paine finishing in 1.04.41; Peter Burfoot finishing in 1.11.06 and WebEd finishing in 1.51.39 - although he did run a slightly longer distance of 11.3 miles (it's a long story and involves the wife so don't ask!).

Happy Easter!

Hastings Half Marathon - video links

2008-03-22T11:01:00.004Z

There are a couple of recordings now available of the Hastings Half Marathon.

Click here to see Meridian's recording for ITV Local.

Click here to see a much longer version of the race on 1066 TV - and most of the Waddies can be seen!

Incidentally, an interesting postscript to the race saw the Hastings AC team stripped of its team title because two of the team were not wearing official team colours. Let that be a lesson to us.

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside

2008-03-22T10:45:00.004Z

Another beautiful British day at the seaside!

Some seasonal weather greeted the Waddies who made the short journey to take part in the Hastings Half Marathon. A good dollop of rain and strong winds made the start somewhat uncomfortable - but the weather and conditions are always helped by the tremendous crowd support that makes this event such a delight.

Once again, there was an excellent turnout from the club with 25 members taking part and some impressive times being recorded.

55 01:21:52 Ciaran Osborn
173 01:28:39 Mark Waring
215 01:30:10 Fara Mendy
263 01:31:38 Michael MacKay
327 01:33:22 Peter Burfoot
372 01:34:33 Helen Goddard
406 01:35:05 Shane Last
498 01:37:13 Cathy Hall
499 01:37:14 Eddie Wattenbach
634 01:40:04 Lyn Hayes
850 01:43:50 Albert Kemp
1263 01:50:22 Matthew Jolliffe
1388 01:52:11 Samantha Craven
1389 01:52:11 Nyree Thomson
1505 01:53:51 Melinda Mackay
1713 01:57:03 Helen Neary
2059 02:01:40 Barry Gilbert
2074 02:01:52 Anthony Gates
2090 02:02:05 Kathie Gates
2596 02:11:23 David Jones
2709 02:13:35 Clare Roche
2893 02:18:01 Catherine Offord
3029 02:21:52 Martin Burke**
3330 02:34:43 Sara Wrenn
3421 02:42:24 Janet Drake

Well done to all!

** For the second race in succession, WebEd found himself in the position of helping a fellow runner to complete the course - and that accounts for a time some .... ooooh .... 60 minutes slower than the time I knew I could complete the race in! But, you know what? There's no accounting for some people. After having spent the best part of 2 hours 20 minutes cajoling, encouraging and dragging this poor girl round the course, I stumbled upon an aquaintance who had collapsed just yards from the finish line. So I naturally stopped, offered assistance and helped carry the poor chap over the line. My co-runner? Did she stop to offer assistance? Nope! She just sprinted over the line to finish 20 seconds ahead of me. Some people eh?

Lydd Half Marathon

2008-03-22T10:41:00.004Z

Well done to the four Waddies who braved the trip on to the marshes to take part in the Lydd Half Marathon. This event used to be extremely popular in the 80's and 90's and March 9th saw the return of the race to the calendar. An extremely fast out and back course running close to Dungeness Power Station and along the coast road saw runners facing strong winds and a good old downpour.

Despite the conditions, some very fast times were recorded - so well done to the four!

15 1:27:11 Mike Mackay
40 1:35:35 Shane Last
86 1:46:50 Albert Kemp
92 1:47:42 Melinda Mackay

Eastbourne Half, Thanet 20 and slightly further afield

2008-03-22T10:29:00.005Z

Windy conditions affected the times at both Eastbourne, for the return of the town's Half Marathon, and at Thanet, where Peter Burfoot was the sole Waddie representative.

There was a strong Waddie presence in Eastbourne where the weather conditions didn't help the runner's times. In addition to the strength sapping wind, the course also contained a very large hill that some Waddies weren't expecting (not many seafronts built on a hill etc etc!)

The results from Eastbourne were

8 Ciaran Osborn 1.23.23
22 Mike Pain 1.27.45
104 Eddy Watenbach 1.39.16
109 Simon Bowyer 1.39.42
115 Shane Last 1.40.04
130 Cathy Hall 1.41.16
201 Abert Kemp 1.46.27
398 Nyree Thomson 1.58.02
399 Sam Craven 1.58.02
469 Helen Neary 2.03.17
529 Kathy Gates 2.07.07
530 Tony Gates 2.07.12
734 Janet Drake 2.40.38

And over in Kent, well done to Peter Burfoot for completing the Thanet 20!

98 Peter Burfoot 2.35.12

Slightly further afield, a couple of Waddies made the annual pilgramage to the city of chocolate and beer for one of Europe's fastest 10 Mile races. The one way race from Ostend to Bruges along the side of the canal which links these two cities always attracts a large field and, if the wind is blowing in the right direction, some fast times are possible.

WebEd was there with Mrs Ed and recorded a pw of 1.47.50 - nothing to do with the wind being in the wrong direction but more to do with an act of supreme gallantry in volunteering to run with a first-timer.

Team of the Year - and that's official!

2008-03-03T09:13:00.005Z

Eight representatives of the club attended the Kent & Sussex Courier Sports Awards at Solomons in Southborough this week. The club were voted Team of the Year - a remarkable effort from a remarkable club!

All we need now is a trophy cabinet!

Ashford & District 10K

The sole Waddie representatives at the popular Ashford & District 10K were the Paine brothers. Mike finished in an impressive 37.28. enough to give him 33rd place; Andy finished in 53.36.

Blog Block?

2008-02-27T12:45:00.004Z

Apologies from WebEd - there appears to have been some kind of problem with recent postings. After examination of the Blog Engine, careful analysis of all available data and a thorough diagnostic check we smacked the side of the machine and shouted at the buttons and it now appears to be working normally.

If you do scroll down you'll see the 'missing' postings going back to December.

Last night Wadhurst Runners collected the Team of the Year award presented by the Kent & Sussex Courier. Unless anybody knows to the contrary, it could be the club's first trophy!

Photos from last night's awards ceremony will be here asap.

More news from our man in the wild west

Barry Gilbert writes with news of more races he's done - most of which he's been the lone Wddie.

Barry has managed eight races so far this year:

Jan 1st Serpentine Runners 10K 52.24
Jan 2nd Woking Monthly Handicap 3 27.09
Jan 9th Eric Humphries 6.5 Mile XC 1.02.37
Jan 25th Serpentine last Friday of the Month 5K 25.04
Jan 27th Canterbury 10 1.27.12
Feb 3rd Watford Half Marathon 2.06.5
Feb 6th Woking Monthly Handicap 3 26.46
Feb 10th Dorney Lake 10K

Phew!!

Wells done!

2008-02-26T18:07:00.000Z

There was an excellent Waddies turnout for the Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon on Sunday. Congratulations to all those who took part.

The results were:

129 Michael Mackay 1.32.04
175 Myles White 1.34.39
205 Peter Burfoot 1.36.06
267 Shane Last 1.38.48
317 Lyn Hayes 1.40.24
451 Albert Kemp 1.44.11
855 Mlinda Mackay 1.55.37
1144 Clare Roche 2.08.03
1195 Nyree Thompson 2.12.16
1197 Sam Craven 2.12.17
1216 Catherine Offord 2.13.51
1338 Sara Wren 2.37.58

Brighton Beacon Results

2008-02-26T18:05:00.004Z

Well done to those that took part in the Beacon Half in Brighton a week or so ago. A great turnout from the club. Results to hand include a new pb for Kathie Gates:

320 Mark Waring 1:32:52 1:30:50
338 Peter Burfoot 1:33:20 1:33:13
404 Shane Last 1:35:02 1:34:50
548 Eddie Wattenbach 1:38:08 1:36:53
585 Lyn Hayes 1:38:46 1:37:31
624 Cathy Hall 1:39:22 1:38:07
726 Albert Kemp 1:41:03 1:40:52
785 Tim Clements 1:41:57 1:41:45
1875 Kathie Gates 1:56:20 1:55:30
2409 David Jones 2:03:30 2:00:48
2565 Tony Gates 2:06:11 2:05:20
3588 Janet Drake 2:38:41 2:33:30

We're team of the year!!

Its a slap on the back all round as Wadhurst Runners have been awarded the Team of the Year gong by the Kent and Sussex Courier. A wedge of Waddies will be attending the gliterring awards ceremony to collect a well-deserved award for a club that is proud of having punched above its weight for so long.

We'll bring photos of the awards in due course.

February round up

2008-02-18T08:40:00.005Z

The Wadhurst Runners Awards were announced at this month's AGM and congratulation go to all the winners:

Senior Champion - Mens - Tim Clements
Senior Champion - Ladies - Charlie Petkovic

Vet Champion - Mens - Mike Pain
Vet Champion - Ladies - Lyn Hayes

Marathon Cup - Mens - Ed McKinney
Marathon Cup - Ladies - Rachel Davies

Standards Cup - Peter Burfoot 29 points, Albert Kemp 28 points, Helen Neary 17 points.

Handicap Champion - Mens - David Burfoot
Handicap Champion - Ladies - Lyn Hayes

Explanation of Awards:

The Senior and Vet Championship is a runners best 10k, 10 mile and Half Marathon results added together, with the lowest winning.

The Marathon Cup is the fastest Marathon ran during the year.

The Standards Cup is a runners times compared against a set of age related standards dictated by the Road Runners Club UK.

The Handicap Championship is the combined results of the Summer and Winter Hadicaps.

Waddies and and a sole Waddette were seen action in both Kent and Sussex earlier this month - and, so Peter Burfoot reports, the venues could hardly have been more contrasting.

In North West Kent, the star performer was Captain Mike Pain in the Sidcup 10 mile, a flat race of 3 circuits of streets lined with 1930's semis. Mike finished in 26th place overall, was the 5th placed Vet and got himself a pb into the bargain with a time of 1.01:31.

Meanwhile in South East Kent WebEd was battling with the hills and cliffs between Dover and Deal in the Dover Mercury Half Marathon and ambled over the line in 2:11:53

Closer to home a number of Waddies and Waddettes competed for the Crowborough Team in the East Sussex Sunday Cross Country League, appropriately at Cross-in-Hand. The 5.3 mile course threaded its muddy slippery wet and steep way through deeply wooded country with not a house or a road to be seen. Many of the runners legs finished spattered in mud and smeared with blood from the brambles, but everybody seemd to enjoy it. The results were:

37 Peter Burfoot 41:12
46 Shane Last 42:08
68 Albert Kemp 47:04
123 Sally Toll 69:08

Don't forget that this weekend is the Sussex Beacon Half Marathon at Brighton. For those looking for a shorter distance there is also the Ashford and District 10k.

More cross border raiding!!

2008-01-29T08:13:00.003Z

Congratulations to the 2 Waddie Finishers in the Canterbury 10 mile race which took place last Sunday.
This is a popular Gold Star event in scenic surroundings on an undulating course with a fast downhill towards the end which attracts a quality field as part of the Kent Grand Prix.

Waddies performances were:

538 Barry Gilbert 1:27:12
606 David Jones 1:30:04

Brrrr - a chilly start to the year!!

2008-01-24T07:28:00.003Z

A clutch (is the right collective term?) of Waddies ventured up to Dartford for a very enjoyable 10 mile race on Sunday. The weather was very kind and some very good times were achieved, with Lyn and Andy both getting PBs.

33 Michael Pain 01:04:16
112 Peter Burfoot 01:11:15
254 Linda Hayes 01:18:07
413 Andy Pain 01:25:52
407 Martin Burke 01:41:06

A pleasant start to the 2008 season!

Sussex GP - provisional calendar issued

2008-01-07T14:28:00.002Z

The provisional list of SGP races for 2008 is as below. There are a few races that have yet to declare their dates, but this is at least a guide so that members can mark their calendars.

Our own Bewl 15 and the Eastbourne Half have been added to the SGP calendar for 2008 to replace Worthing 20 and Hailsham 10.

1. 17.02.2008 Sussex Beacon ½ Marathon
2. 02.03.2008 Eastbourne ½ Marathon
3. 16.03.2008 Hastings ½ Marathon
4. 27.04.2008 Hastings 5 mile
5. 11.05.2008 Horsham 10K
6. 04.06.2008 Worthing 10K
7. 22.06.2008 Heathfield 10K
8. 06.07.2008 Bewl 15
9. 16 or 23.07.2008 Bexhill 5K (TBC)
10. 24.08.2008 Newick Will Page 10K
11. 14.09.2008 Hellingly 10K
12. 21.09.2008 Hove 5 mile or 10K (TBC)
13. 05.10.2008 Lewes Downland 10K
14. 12.10.2008 Chichester 10K
15. 02.11.2008 Barns Green ½ Marathon
16. 09.11.2008 Phoenix Park 5.6/7.2K Races
17. 16.11.2008 Brighton 10K
18. 30.11.2008 Crowborough 10K

New Year catch up!

2008-01-03T09:18:00.005Z

The last couple or so weeks in December were a hectic time for club and members.

First up was a wet and miserable Crowborough - see photo below for proof!

Then, of course, we had all the excitement of the Christmas Dinner plus, that long -awaited draw for FLM places. The lucky Waddies drawn for a place in the 2008 London Marathon were Peter Burfoot and Sam Craven, although Sam subsequently passed up her place to the 1st reserve Michael Paine. Peter and Mike will join a host of other Waddies who have already secured their places in the main ballot.

A number of Waddies competed in the vest at events around the region, including Peter Burfoot who finished 259th out of 1,385 finishers with a time of 1:35:46 at the Bedford Half marathon.

We also saw a number of waddies turn out for the Christmas Pudding dash held at ashburnham Place, near Battle.

WebEd suffered a cold and miserable Swanley Christmas Caper and won a Pudding! That was followed up by one of the toughest 10Ks in the area - the Westfield 10K. Never advertised this Hastings AC organised event is helpd on Boxing day morning and includes some of the most punishing hills to be found in East Sussex. A much more pleasurable 10K was found in the Ribble Valley a couple of days later - a unique opportunity to see Ron Hill competing against ... well, err Ron! (You need to know!)

Finally, in December, we had another staging of the Christmas Handicap. There was a great turnout this year, with 15 Waddies and 5 Crowborough runners taking part in ideal (if a little frosty) conditions. Congratulations to Helen for being 1st Lady and Eddie for being 1st Male across the line. Wadhurst results below:

1. Helen
2. Eddie
3. Maya
4. Sally
5. David B
6. Mike
7. Albert
8. Shane
9. Maria
10. Peter
11. Tim
12. Andy
13. Lynn
14. Sara
15. David J

These results will be combined with the results from the Summer Handicap and the Overall Handicap Winners will be announced at the AGM on the 22nd Jan. See you all there.

Exclusive video of Albert's secret training session

2007-12-18T18:01:00.000Z

WebEd has been globetrotting - but the Blog will be updated with final news from 2007, plus details of all the SGP events in 2008 within the next day or so.

In the meantime, members may be interested to see this secret footage taken of our Chairman during one of his weekly aerobic sessions.

His secret is out!!

Crowborough results

2007-12-05T16:29:00.000Z

Well done to all those who braved the elements on Sunday to run the last SGP race of the season.

Here are the results:

31 41.24 Mike Pain
42 42.44 Michael Mackay
67 45.12 Tim Clements
76 46.07 Peter Burfoot
78 46.11 Myles White
105 48.01 Shane Last
156 51.05 Albert Kemp
206 54.18 Andy Pain
217 54.47 Cathy Hall
238 56.45 Fergus Randolph
273 59.29 Tony Gates
280 1.01.02 Clare Roche
281 1.01.13 Kathy Gates
292 1.01.27 Rachel Davies
363 1.18.01 Sara Wrenn

That's the last of the Sussex GP meetings for the year - but there are still a couiple of local races if you're that keen!

This Sunday it's the Mince Pie 10 at Seaford and then, on Saturday 22nd, at Ashburnham Place, near Battle, it's the Christmas Pudding Dash. The year is brought ot an end with our Christmas Handicap on Sunday 23rd.

Finally, remember it's Party Time on Friday (for all but WedEd who suffers for his art and will be working - but don't worry about me. You just go off and enjoy yourselves. I'll be OK. Working. On my own. At Christmas. Whilst everybody else is enjoying themselves.)

Bah humbug!!