SPRINT Issue 59

sprint
The Official Poole Runners Magazine
Issue 59 – Summer
Issue 59
Summer 2016
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poolerunners.com
facebook.com/PooleRunners
@poolerunners

Committee & Club Contacts
Chairman Paul Ingham paul.ingham@btinternet.com
Vice Chairman Alan Lewis lewissports@btinternet.com
Club Secretary Carole Ingham poolerunners.secretary@gmail.com
Treasurer Peter Ferenczy peter.Ferenczy@bournemouthwater.co.uk
Membership Secretary Roger Cross roger8ag@gmail.com
Road Race Male Capt. Steve Yates stevoyates11@hotmail.co.uk
Track & Field Annette Lewis nett107@hotmail.com
PFoR Chairman James Skipworth jskip73@yahoo.co.uk
Committee Member Rob Brown robrunner1@hotmail.co.uk
Committee Member Mick Cooper mcroofing@btinternet.co.uk
Committee Member Steve Davis ciderspud@virginmedia.com
Committee Member Dave Graham dave.grhm1@gmail.com
Committee Member Sarah Swift rolphs@hotmail.com
Committee Member Khalil Ghabaee khalilghabaee@sky.com
Committee Member Adrian Clark adrian.clark@hotmail.co.uk
U18’s Coordinator Annette Lewis nett107@hotmail.com
Welfare Officer Catherine u18childrenofficerpoolerunners@gmail.com
Welfare Officer Esther u18childrenofficerpoolerunners@gmail.com
Senior’s Club Kit Miriam Gray eandm44@hotmail.co.uk
SPRINT Editor Roger Cross sprintpoolerunners@gmail.com
Club Championship Barry Trowbridge barry.trowbridge@googlemail.com
Club open facebook
page & twitter
Roger Cross
sprintpoolerunners@gmail.com
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Front Cover Photos thanks to Amanda Dennison, Sarah Swift & Ian Edwards

CHAIRMAN’S CHATTER
You could say I am like an ‘old record’ (easy
peeps). Last time I wrote to all you lovely
people, I was wishing you all the best for the
New Year.......... now autumn is in the air and
this year’s Christmas party organisation well
under way and being organised by Carole.
Many of you felt that we have had our time at
the Riviera and wanted a change, so this year
we had a good look around and have come up
with the Cumberland Hotel, with its great
reviews for food and entertainment........... The
date (get your diaries out) is Saturday 3 rd December.
The new committee appointed this year is full of enthusiasm and brings to
the table an air of determination to sort out our busy agenda. Each
committee member has their own specific field and together the club is
moving forward. I would like to point out it is no reflection on past
committee members. But sometimes it is a little change that is needed to
advance.
Sunday 5 th June........... Poole Festival of Running was a great success, and
although there were small niggles on the day, they were ironed out and it
turned out to be an amazing day for all the athletes (under 8 to over 80) and
spectators alike. James and his team pulled out all the stops and worked
extra hard in all areas to make it happen. Great publicity via social media
goes a long way in spreading the word. They are well in advance of planning
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next year’s event, which from what I hear, is going to grow even bigger over
two days! Watch this space. In my view the club looked very professional
with good adverts, banners, new timing clock and of course our blow up
inflatable!!
The Monday plod grows from strength to strength; this year saw the start of
the couch to 5K, which has turned out to be so popular, in fact organiser
Esther has started a second course, which again is very well attended. Well
done to her and all her team.
Tuesday interval sessions and Monday / Thursday track are getting
busier........... Check the new website for all our activities, and a big thank you
to all the coaches and helpers on these evenings.
Last year we started the summer series on a Wednesday evening, and
decided to carry on from last year. Organised by Mike Towner and Dave
Graham this year, it has grown to be the best year yet. People have
commented on how well organised the event was and good to have a midweek
event at Upton House. Mike has already fed back the details on the
whole event and it’s good to see such large numbers of people enjoying
themselves, again well done to their team of helpers, Mike Bruce, Alan & Sue
Webb, Anne Towner, Maureen Panton, Roger Cross and all the marshals.
Exciting times now with the new web site, developed and produced by Emma
Livermore. I am sure you agree with me that it’s a lot more user friendly,
being easier to get round and full of great content. There will be teething
problems but bear with us and if you see anything that is not correct please
let us know. There is a general comment box or check out the committee
members and click the link below their name to contact them direct.
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Look forward to seeing you all on our Wednesday club meet, and wish you all
the very best in your running ventures.
Paul Ingham –
Poole Runners Chairman
_______________________________________________________
Poole Sports Awards
Freddie Rowe Award 2016
Mike Towner
Well-deserved special award for Mike Towner
I am sure you are all aware of how much considerable time and hard work
Mike Towner has put into many aspects of our club, over many years.
With this in mind I have been talking to Poole Council to see if there is an
award I could nominate him for. It turns out each year, the Sports Council, in
conjunction with Borough of Poole, hosts a sports awards event to celebrate
sporting success for clubs and individuals in Poole.
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Sports clubs, schools and organisations are invited to nominate individuals or
teams who have achieved success in their sport; are involved with the
organisation/management; or have given outstanding service to their
particular sport. Successful nominations are awarded a Certificate of
Commendation.
In addition, the Freddie Rowe Award recognises any outstanding sporting
performance or contribution, such as world or national success, or for
dedication or long service to a club or sport, such as a coach, club secretary
or volunteer.
So, I decided to nominate Mike for this award and submitted an application a
few months ago detailing Mike’s achievements and have been waiting
patiently for the results.
At last, I am so pleased to say that our very own Mike Towner has been
successfully selected to receive the Freddie Rowe Award.
The trophy will be presented by the Mayor, Councilor Xena Dion at the
awards ceremony on Wednesday 21st September 2016 at Magna Academy,
Ashdown Close, Canford Heath, Poole.
I hope many friends and committee members will join me in attending to see
Mike presented with this deserved award.
Paul Ingham
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GUESS WHO?
Recognise these legs?
Recognise this pose?
Answer can be found within one
of the event reports in this issue
_________________________________________________________
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Poole Runners Annual Christmas Dinner
Dance & Presentation Evening
Saturday 3 rd December 2016
The Cumberland Hotel, East Overcliff Drive,
Seafront, Bournemouth, BH1 3AF
Keep an eye on club website & facebook pages for
full details soon.

This year’s Grizzly experience (13 th March 2016)
Steve Claxton
I approached the race a little apprehensively as I had not run well the day
before and was worried that as a result a hard day was ahead. This was my
4th attempt to run well here and so I knew what was coming.
I started well and got to the first shingle section with people flooding past
and 500 meters in I was worried as the legs felt tired. However unusually it
was a nice sunny day and I was relaxed.
Onto roads and I felt ok first mile done. Then the first hill and I started to get
into my stride and go past people. Wiggling around the village a bit I kept
going past people and felt better. Had a chat with a few people as we left
Seaton and thought that life is not too bad.
Coming up the big hill to Beer where I knew my wife and cousin would be
waiting to cheer me on meant I pushed on to make sure I ran down the hill
really fast to look good ( very vain I know). This worked well and I still felt ok,
being cheered on by the crowd lifted me so much I ran to the caravan park
quite fast.
Next I started to prepare mentally for the river run in Branscombe, harder
this time as you run through about 10 meters of it and it was cold, shingly
and difficult underfoot. This bit always attracts a lot of people as they seem
to like laughing as us poor runners struggling through the freezing water.
The run turns to lots of tree lined hills with lovely countryside thrown in and I
got into a rhythm with a few other runners who were steady. Keeping up
with them on the hills was encouraging. I made sure as soon as the legs
started to burn I walked. This worked well as I felt good and gained a few
more places.
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Then the race started to get really interesting as I jumped into another river
which only means one thing, Bog time. I was in the lead of the small group at
the time and fairly early on went in up to my thigh which cheered the others
up as they thanked me and said they could pick the route better. Oh the joys,
photographers love being here as well to capture the faces of all the runners
stuck in the mud and hopefully of them falling over (I did not fall in).
The bogs were ok, I did get very dirty although my secret weapons of long
socks had stopped much of the mud sticking to my hairy legs, result! So I
emerged muddy but fairly positive.
A really steep hill even by Grizzly standards follows this and some further
walking for me keeping to my tactic of not burning all my energy on uphill.
Then a downhill road and my legs had turned to jelly, I struggled to stop
myself falling over. I did however go quite fast and thought it was ok, then a
corner appeared and I nearly knocked the chap in front of me over – sorry
about that.
More fields and hills (you get a bit blasé but it is lovely) and I recognised the
bit where we come up to the Pub - point 2 for the wife so I went fast to
impress her again. This worked well, she nearly missed seeing me as she was
focused on cider and chips (what about me?). On the uphill after that I felt
good and kept going and was catching the person in front.
Then it was on to the bit I was dreading the long shingle section ( it is only
about 500 meters but it feels a lot further) , this really hurts but today the
tide was out and I could run in the sand for a bit.
Once you think, good I am off the shingle my legs are burning (no walking
here), it is the stairway to heaven where traditionally I get overtaken by the
first women. Today however I was feeling ok and overtook a runner (well he
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more begged me to go in front). Then I followed another really closely as
encouragement.
Last time at Beer Head it was snowing and I nearly collapsed, saved by a
fellow runner giving me a push and friendly word. This time I was warm and
positive and ran fast all the way down to Beer. At the uphill section I caught
some of the Cub runners who were really friendly and nice.
Finally downhill to the finish and I really pushed on (it felt fast). I could see a
few more people in front I was catching; I could not go faster though. I
enjoyed the finish and the massive cheer even if I did not catch the next
runner. Wave to the wife and pose while I was finishing 10th by far my best
ever run at the Grizzly but did not feel like I had tried as hard as before.
Sometimes the race does come together even though I did not expect it.
What a great race though, great support and bands and views and…. How
did I do so well? I wish I knew.
Steve Claxton
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Q & A……..
SPRINT asks:
1.) What was your favourite moment of the Rio Olympics?
2) Do you have any quirky habits while running?
3) Who would you like to get stuck in a lift with?
REPLIES:
Rob Brown
1. It didn't see as much of the track and field as I would have liked due to the
time difference, but I did stay up to watch Mo Farah's 5000m win, which was
fantastic. Apart from that I do enjoy the track cycling, especially races
involving the derny bike!
2. I can't really say that I have any strange running habits but it's well known
that I have a fear of cows! Any of the summer runs through fields, usually
involve Usain Bolt-esque sprints!
3. Getting stuck in a lift is not something that I would relish, so my first choice
would be to get stuck in a lift with a lift engineer! However, if the lift engineer
looked like Rachel Riley from Countdown, then that would be a bonus!
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Elizabeth Sherwood
1. Silver medal winner Bryony Page and her amazing trampolining, her total
surprise and emotion at winning a medal she just could not believe it and
such a lovely unassuming girl.
2. I always wear my Garmin, no idea of my pacing otherwise, I have to
complete a full mile - and will run round in circles just to complete. Cross the
other side of the road when I see a dog whatever the size. Spend so much
time telling myself how to run more efficiently, keep head up, shoulders
back, use my core, and breathe!! It’s exhausting! And still no signs of
improvement!
3. It has to be Bolt - importantly, he would be the best person to enable an
escape route, in need! And he would be sure to want to get away quick!! He
is just my greatest hero of all time (along with the rest of the world)!
_______________________________________________________________
Ian Edwards
1. Mo Farah winning 10K Gold.
2. No, just unpleasant but biologically necessary ones.
3. Arsene Wenger.
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Leon Young
1. it’s a tossup between Mo winning the double double and the hockey
women’s win, with the sheer joy of the Trampolinist.
2. Not that I am aware of, however, that's not to say they are not there.
3. A lift engineer or failing that a fireman. If we are talking famous person.
Natalie Portman and from the sports world Killian Jornet.
________________________________________________________
Graham Moyse
1. It’s got to be Mo Farah winning his 4th gold in the 5000m. All the Olympic
medallists have achieved great things, but some medals are harder to win
than others. Track and Field (especially track) medals mean more. Africans
don’t do swimming/ cycling/ rowing etc. but they all run!
2. Nothing major. However, I do have a habit of evacuating my snotty nose to
one side or other, whilst running and cycling. Last year, whilst cycling in the
country I did this, unaware of the guy who had decided to tuck into my
slipstream. Serves him right I say!
3. I’d be looking for someone, with whom I could chat for an hour or two,
rather than anything else! Nothing to do with running but I believe that
Prince Phillip would have some fascinating stories, though I expect that he
would become exasperated with me in about 3 minutes!
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Paul Ingham
1. That’s a tough one so many medals so many magic moments, but for me it
was watching Mo completing his double - double in the 5K, feeling tired but
determined to win.
2. Quirky not sure, on regular routes towards the end I count lamp posts,
how quirky is that.
3. That’s easy the ladies beach volley ball team
______________________________________________________________
Fran Christopher
1. The best moment of the Olympics for me was Katherine
Grainger winning her 5 medal after retiring following 2012 and then making a
comeback with not expecting to get a medal was awesome!! The best
interview goes to the Irish lightweight double sculls Olympians the O’Donnell
brothers after winning gold - watch it if you haven’t seen it!!!
2. I like looking in people’s houses through their windows!! I also like listening
to the radio and often find myself talking to it!!
3. Very shallow Robbie Williams, David Beckham - for obvious reasons no
talking needed! And of course Matt Le Tiss and James Cracknell as I think
they would have great stories to tell.
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Lucy Culkin
1. seeing Jason Kenny win the Keirin - a real ‘jumping up & down on the sofa'
moment!
2. I cannot wear any jewellery or have any accessories on me when
running...I find it hugely distracting! Not such a good thing when running a
white star running event in fancy dress!
3. Can I say no-one?! I'd love 10 minutes stuck in a lift alone! With 2 young
children it would be a rare opportunity to get some peace & quiet!
____________________________________________________________
Peter Portnoi
1. Seeing Nick Skelton win his gold after five Olympics, had a lump in my
throat seeing him on the podium.
2. Not always looking where I'm going!
3. A lift engineer
______________________________________________________________
Roger Cross
1. Sophie Hitchon – Bronze Medal, Women’s Hammer Throw
2. Not wearing anything coloured red during the football season.
3. James Brown “Godfather of Soul” complete with his orchestra & dancers.
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Jason Mumford
1. The omnium in the track cycling. Completely bonkers!
2. Do tripping over tree routes and making odd wheezing noises count?!
3. Rachel Riley
_____________________________________________________________
Dave Hayes
1. What I thought was the Miss Wet T-shirt contest but turned out to be the
Women’s Hockey Final!
They certainly put the England football team to shame for sheer guts and
endeavour. Which was summed up by Mo Farah’s fall in the 10k – got up and
got on with it. None of the histrionics of all cheating footballers.
2. During races I actually always acknowledged everyone who cheered me on
or called out my name including an ‘old flame’ from 1961 who was in the
crowd at Bird Cage Walk (London Marathon 1987) I stopped gave her a kiss
and still broke the 3 hour barrier (with her irate husband in pursuit!)
3. Blair and or Campbell and all Mandelson or all three plus a GUN! Failing
that a lift repairman!
And there’s more….. Don’t know how it happened but I appear to have Caster
Semenya’s breasts and I’m pretty sure certain she’s got my testicles
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DAVE HAYES SAYS…
Thought I’d put on record my congratulations to the new committee. Early
days I know, but it does seem like a breath of fresh air has been wafted into
the dusty corners of our club.
No disrespect to any of the long serving members who stood down at the
A.G.M to make room for the younger element.
It really was time some new blood was injected into the ailing but worn out
methods of several decades.
Poole Runners have been in the forefront of the local running scene for many
years with regard to organising many varied events both on and off road
which lit a path for other clubs to copy.
Much of what we do organise was getting a bit “samey” and not particularly
what was wanted by the new crop of runners.
Andy Palmer saw the potential for something different. Look at the
popularity of his events. As a club we may have missed the opportunity to,
along with him lead the way. BUT, it’s not too late.
We are a good club, very sociable (as ever) and now, with some new blood,
prepared to be adventurous. The future looks bright.
We can now regain some of the enthusiasm and innovation that was shown
by our founder members but has slowed down a little of late.
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As I’ve said, this is not intended to be disrespectful to the hard work the likes
of Alwyn Dominey, John Rhoden, Steve Crockford, Peter Couch (Pete, was the
driving force who introduced us to the 100 CLUB, a great money spinner)
Geoff Scott etc. put into Poole Runners, not to mention Mike Towner who is
still very much around doing what he does best. There are others, too
numerous to mention but all loyal, dedicated members. Poole Runners
through and through and ready and waiting in the wings to lend a hand when
needed.
Not a lot of people know this but I can remember when Geoff Scott’s running
list was actually scratched onto a piece of slate with a sharp flint and passed
from member to member. Yes!! That’s how long he’s been doing that task!
I digress…
So…. To all the new committee members still ably led by Paul Ingham, Pete
Ferenczy, Alan & Annette Lewis, keep up the enthusiasm and new ideas.
P.S. Did you hear of the agnostic, dislecksit, insomniac who used to wake up
in the middle of the night wondering if there really was a dog?!!
And… did you know that Jehovah Witnesses don’t take part in Halloween
because it’s against their religion. They don’t it when strangers come to their
doors bothering them!
Again, I digress.
DAVE HAYES
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COACHES CORNER
WARMING UP & WARMING DOWN
Alan Lewis
(Cool down if from north of Watford)
Simply, warming up prepares your muscles, tendons and your HEART for the
effort to come.
Warm (cool) down, is to return your body to pre-session state, reducing
adrenaline and lactate levels allowing your body to recover in readiness for
the next session.
For example a warm-up at out Track Sessions will be 10-15 minutes JOG to
warm up the muscles. And warm muscles are more elastic and less likely to
get injured.
The Jog should be relaxed (if you run fast you are missing the point) Slow,
gentle with only a little increase in pace (save it for the session)
Following the jog we will perform drills designed to stretch all muscle groups.
These will include High Knees, Bum Flicks, Lunges, Karaoke to name just a
few.
These exercises will allow muscles to stretch without straining them. In warm
weather this exercise can be done in the kit you intend to use for the session.
But in cold and inclement weather extra layers should be worn to help the
process and removed just before the main session.
These layers should be replaced after the session to slow cooling process and
ensure muscle problems and cramps do not occur.
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Our warm down will be 10-15 mins, gentle jogging at conversational pace.
And each lap we run 50 metres backwards to help remove lactic acid from
particularly the calf muscles.
All your runs should incorporate these elements, Wednesday and Sundays
included. If you one of these runs “eye-balls out” it is more important than
ever.
Jog with loose hands and ankles for at least 5 minutes and then 3 x 20 secs
calf stretches on each leg and 3 x 20 secs hamstring stretches.
This is a total of 4 minutes and should be considered as the minimum.
Pre run warm ups before Sunday and Wednesday runs may mean arriving
earlier but in the long term you will suffer less injuries and may well save on
physio bills.
If unable to arrive early and do this you must take the first mile/1.5 mile easy
to allow this process to work.
With races the saying is the shorter the race, the longer the warm-up.
Alan Lewis
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Thames Path 100 – 2016
Rich Meston
I always intend to write a race report after each ultra that I do, but usually
only get as far as about half way and then forget to finish. Hopefully I’ll
actually get to the end of this one…
Before the TP100, I devoured pretty much every race report I could find and
found it really useful as there were a lot of common things mentioned, and
when lots of people are talking about a specific part of the run (e.g. a hill, or
endless fields etc) then you know it’s something to at least be aware of. As I
didn’t have a chance to recee any of the run, this was handy info.
I wanted to write this report for a number of reasons. Firstly, it serves as a
good reminder to myself if I choose to do the event again, and even if not
then I like to put a “lessons learnt” section in and it’s usually handy to check
over that to make sure I don’t make any silly mistakes in future
runs. Secondly, I found the race reports I read really useful, and wanted to
add my take on it to the pool so I can help someone else out. Thirdly, it’s
such an epic experience to run 100 miles I kind-of want to keep the feeling
alive a bit longer
So… how to write this? I can’t remember all the details in the right order, so
it might be a bit of a muddle but I’ll try and keep it in as much of the correct
time order as possible!
Let the tale begin…
Quick History
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I’ve been “running” since for a bit over 20 years, but I ran my first ultra (the
Green Man) in 2014, and since then have run about 8 more. I ran Endure 24
twice, finally getting to 100 miles for the first time in 2015 in a time of just
over 24 hours, so at least I knew I could do the distance!
I entered TP100 back in July 2015, and had a plan to do lots of slow long
distance training over the winter. I ran a marathon in October which I did a
lot of training for, but after that I seemed to lose my running mojo. I really
struggled to even get out the door from December to February, every run
feeling a lot more like a chore than anything enjoyable. I only ran 62 miles in
December and averaged around 20 miles/week for January and February –
not exactly the ideal mileage for 100 mile race training!
At the end of February, I decided that it was probably too late to start
properly training for TP100, but I had to make a decision whether to drop out
before the beginning of April (otherwise I would lose 100% of the entry fee,
as opposed to just 30% if I cancelled with more than 4 weeks’ notice)
So, I decided on a rough training plan for March. I knew running a 60+ mile
weeks would break me physically and mentally, so I opted for 2-4 runs per
week, with one of them being long or back-to-back over 2 days.
On 13th March I ran the Salisbury 10 mile race and got a 3 minute PB, tipping
just under 70 minutes for the first time. Then next week I ran from my home
to Winchester (46 miles) in about 8 and a half hours. This was a real
confidence boost – both the distance and the time (about 90 minutes quicker
than last time I did it), but I ended up with a knee problem on one side. I
didn’t want to immediately blame the Hokas I was wearing, but I took it easy
the following week and kept to different shoes.
The week after I ran a totally mind numbing 38 miles around the local
country park in 7 hours – bang on my planned target. I knew now I was going
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to do TP100 no matter what, and it was nice to be able to concentrate on
planning for the run.
Just to finish the training – I planned back-to-back 20+20 runs over the next 2
weeks and managed 20+6 (knee playing up again), and 20+10 (just fed up on
day 2). This didn’t help at all in terms confidence, but the first run did make
me decide to get a pair of Inov8 Race Ultra 290s and cross my fingers and
hope that I got on with them and they helped with my knee issue.
Training covered, this was the first 100 mile point-to-point race I’d ever
entered, and the first with a mandatory kit list. As the weather was
uncertain, I went on a bit of spending spree – what I couldn’t do in training I
could make up for in kit… right?
I got a Salomon “S-Lab Advanced Longest Name Ever 12 Set Plus Vest
Doodah” to replace my 3 year old one which I was now about 2 stone too
light for. I bought a new head torch, the recommended emergency light, the
TP100 route map, some waterproof trousers and some Inov8 Race Ultra
Mitts. I also bought some “anti-chafe” undercrackers and some compression
shorts as I had previously had a bit of an issue with seams on shorts – very
highly recommended as I had no issue at all over 100 miles.
I’d never run a race that had drop bags either and initially I had no idea what
to put in them. I wrote various lists of stuff I might need on my phone over
the preceding weeks, and when it came to packing the drop bags it all
seemed fairly obvious.
I opted for warm stuff in the Henley drop box (51 miles) as that would
coincide with about the time it was getting dark (as long as I was on track). I
chucked in a fleece at the last minute (more because I had space than I
thought I’d need it), and what a race-saving decision that turned out to be! I
put change of shorts, socks and t-shirt in the Streatley drop box (71 miles)
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just in case I got soaked or needed a change. I also stuck spare head torch
and GPS batteries in both boxes, along with some food.
I got the train to Richmond on the Friday before, armed with all my gear in a
supermarket shopping bag, and got slightly nervous in the massive hail storm
as I went over the bridge at Clapham Junction hoping the weather would be
nicer the next day!
I arrived at Richmond around 1330 and decided to go for a trip on the tubes
around London to pass some nervous time, but later in the afternoon I felt
really tired, so went back to the hotel, had some pizza for dinner and a goodluck
pint of Guinness and went to bed around 2030.
Race Day: I pinged awake at 0515, despite my alarm being set for an hour
later. I lay in bed, swapping between almost drifting back to sleep and
sudden panic as I realised what I was about to attempt! About 6am I couldn’t
stand it anymore so I got up and started checking my kit. It was all already
packed, so it was just another check of everything being in place. For about
the millionth time.
I got dressed ready for the race. My Green Man t-shirt, Decathlon anti-chafe
underwear, a 4 inch thick layer of BodyGlide over everything that may rub,
compression shorts then normal shorts over the top. Compressport calf
guards, Injinji socks with 2Toms BlisterShield powder in.
I went down for breakfast at 7am and was the first person there, had some
green tea, fruit, yogurt and porridge, forcing down the latter as I didn’t really
have any appetite but figured it would be necessary.
Back up to my room, checked everything again (of course), then down to
check out and try out Uber for the first time. It was a whopping one mile
from my hotel to the start, but I was buggered if I was going to walk that with
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a rucksack and big bag considering how much I’d be using my feet later in the
day.
I was fairly early at the Old Town Hall in Richmond, and quickly passed kit
check, signed my life away with the waiver and got my number. I chatted
with a guy who’d ran WSER, wandered back and forth for a bit and then sat
on the floor for a while just being nervous. I then remembered I should
probably get rid of my drop bags so sorted my final bits and pieces out (like a full
charge of my phone), then handed the 2 drop bags and bag for Oxford in at the
truck. A few visits to the toilet later and I was sitting by the start line listening to
James give his pre-race talk.
10:00 on the dot, the horn honked and off we all went!
First Half
My strategy for this run was to run the first mile, then walk 0.1 mile at the
start of each mile, trying to start with an average around 10:00/mile pace,
allowing a drop back to 10:30-11:00/mile when I needed it, hopefully as close
to Henley (51 miles) as possible, where I wanted to arrive by 8pm.
So, off I went at 8:00/mile pace, obviously.
Actually, this was part of the plan. One of things about reading race reports
is that you can learn a bit about the course even if you’ve never recee’d it. I
knew there was a gate that caused a bottleneck within the first mile, so I
figured hitting that early would save a bit of time. As it happens, you could
easily jump the fence but when I got to the gate there were only a few
people in front of me so I queued for 30 seconds or so then was on my way at
my planned 10:00/mile pace.
The first aid station (Walton on Thames) was pretty busy. I refilled all 3 of my
bottles (2 x 500ml soft flasks, and I too a 500ml water bottle with me for the
25

first 2 aid stations as they were over 10 miles apart and I get through a lot of
water in the heat), and grabbed a little bit of food. I’d met up with Joe
Delaney a bit before this aid station, and he recommended the cheese scones
– they did not disappoint, absolutely delicious!
On we went. There’s not too much detail for this section as I was feeling
fine. I’d had a niggle from my knee around 5 miles which I noticed had
disappeared when I was concentrating on a niggle from my other ankle at
around 11 miles. A quick review at 20 miles suggested nothing important
had dropped off so I just got on with running.
It was great to talk with Joe as we ran along. We were doing a very similar
run-walk strategy which we got in sync and chatted away for the next 15
miles or so. We were a bit ahead of Joe’s planned pace, and strictly my
planned pace too, but I felt very good so I ended up going ahead sometime
before Dorney (30.5 mile) aid station.
It seems like a paragraph about how good the volunteer are is pretty much
boilerplate for a Centurion event. There’s a good reason for that. I’d heard
so much about them, but thought it must have been hyped a bit. No. It
isn’t. Volunteer at Centurion events are magical angels. They all seem to find
the perfect line between friendly, encouraging and tough when you need
it. You want for nothing – I handed over my water bottles and they come
back filled, I’m offered food of every variety by people who seem to just want
to make my time at the aid stations as easy as possible. Everyone’s smiling,
even in the middle of the night! I never thought that one of the things I’d
come out of this even with is a desire to volunteer – not only do I want to pay
some of that kindness back, but it looks like a bloody good time was had by
all as well! Anyway… on with the race…
At Dorney I was pretty hungry so wolfed down way too much. Within a mile
after I left I tripped over a root, tried to catch my fall for 3 or 4 lurchy steps
then fell in a surprisingly comfortable and completely unintentional roll,
26

ending almost standing right back up again! It knocked the wind out of me a
bit though, so I added a short walking break in to get my breath back. Soon
after, the excess food came back to haunt me making me feel really bloated
and uncomfortable to run, but I managed to keep the 0.1/0.9 mile strategy
going.
Just a note on the run/walk idea. I’ve never used it in an ultra before, but I
tried it in a couple of training runs. It didn’t seem to make things magically
easier during training, but it didn’t make it worse so I thought I might as well
give it a bash in the race. During the TP100, I absolutely fell in love with the
idea. 0.1 miles is just enough time to walk and refresh, 0.9 miles is a good
distance to run. If you feel a bit rubbish, you know it’s never more than 0.9
miles until you get a little walk break, and after the breaks I always found I
felt refreshed and ran quicker for about the next quarter of a mile. And
having planned breaks stops me taking walking breaks too often, which I
always finds happen if I just allow myself walk breaks at any time. For a race
like TP100 – which is very flat – it has the added benefit of adding some
variety to leg muscle usage over time, otherwise it’s hour after hour of
exactly the same muscles being used in the same way.
I was glad to finally get to 44 miles (Cookham), and did so just as the heavens
opened. I hid under the tent for a few minutes, during which time I found
the watermelon which was absolutely delicious and about the only thing I
could tolerate as my stomach still hadn’t returned to normal. As I left, the
rain stopped (unusual perfect timing!) and got on with the job of getting to
Henley – just over the halfway point and the place I’d get my first drop bag.
27

The second half
So, I got to Henley at about 1945 – 15 minutes ahead of my pretty optimistic
schedule. There were seats, and things cooking and dropboxes and people
and smiles and coffee and seats. Did I mention the seats? Before I had quite
stopped, one of the wonderful volunteers was shouting my number and my
drop box was coming back at lightning speed. I took my vest off, put
everything down by a seat (mmmm, seat!), stuck my Garmin on charge from
the little battery pack I had and grabbed some meaty pasta. It was delicious!
I’d arrived feeling pretty hot in just a t-shirt, and had felt on the toasty side
through the whole of the first 50 miles with the sun shining down for most of
it. It seemed a bit strange getting cold weather stuff out of my drop box, but
I put on long tights (getting in a right muddle with my shoes on 2 occasions),
putting my shorts on over the top again to keep my number on the outside. I
swapped my t-shirt for a long sleeved thermal base layer, put a new t-shirt on
top (it felt wonderful to put something clean on!), and put my fleece in my
backpack just in case I needed it later.
It wasn’t quite head torch time yet, but I moved it somewhere easy to
grab. As I put everything back on, my watch beeped to tell me it had got
bored waiting and decided to save the first half of my run, thus cutting the
track for the whole race in half! Now I was going to end up with a 51 mile
run and a 49 mile run instead of an epic 100 mile run! Annoying, but not the
end of the world.
I grabbed a cup of coffee – my first caffeine in over a week – and left the aid
station.
It took me about 2 minutes to realise that, now the sun had gone down, the
temperature had dropped significantly. Another 2 minutes and I had my
mitts on, and was very, very glad I’d doubled up the layers.
28

I kept the run/walk strategy up for the next few miles, and ended up catching
a group of a few people. I ran past, and they caught me during my walk
break, then I ran on again. I got a bit excited by a random lock and took a
wrong turn in a bid to cross it, at which point the group caught me up
again. I’m pretty sure this was where I met Dave Stuart, who I ran with from
there until pretty much the end of the race.
Soon it got dark, the head torch went on and we carried on chasing our
little spots of light. The terrain had changed from a lot of solid
paths/road to more trail/fields and was representative of most of the second
half.
Dave and I started chatting about all sorts, time went pretty quickly and soon
we were in Reading at 58 miles. Up the steps we went – which was actually
quite a nice change after all the flat – and into the room of food! I’d gone in
with the intention of a couple of minutes rest, but that wasn’t to happen as
Roz (Glover) saw me and immediately told me I was doing well, no time to
waste, grab food and get out! Yes boss! I picked up a few savoury snacks
and a cup of coffee, and Roz’s face when I picked up a Gu Gel – a sort of
“seriously?! Well, it’s your funeral…” look – was an absolute picture!
Outside and back down the slippery steps we started off again. I opened my
delicious chocolate orange Gu gel, took a tiny mouthful and almost
immediately felt sick. The rest of the gel went in the next bin I found, and it
took a good 15 minutes before my stomach was feeling OK again. I should
take more heed of Roz’s expression next time
My recollection of what order things happened in is pretty poor at this
point. Essentially, everything was dark, it was difficult to relate events to any
particular location so it’s just a series of things happening in dark places,
punctuated by stops at the aid stations.
29

I know at one aid station around midnight the temperature had dropped a bit
more, so I dug my fleece out of my race vest and put it on. When we went
back outside it was immediately apparent that the fleece was now absolutely
essential. To think I only stuck it in the drop box at the last minute based on
advice from Centurion in the last TP100 mail sent out just a few days
before. At Henley I didn’t believe I’d need it, by 0600 on Sunday I was pretty
convinced that having my fleece with me was the difference between
finishing and a DNF – it was that cold overnight!
We crossed noisy weirs (really noisy and a bit freaky after the peace of the
night!). Dave laughed as I got trapped in a sort-of cage that came to a dead
end as I’d missed the side gate. We saw lots of trains (I find them quite
comforting!). And we went through a few pretty creepy areas – wooded
areas with lots of rubbish in, and one raised wooden walkway that went
under a big brick arch bridge that felt like you were entering some monsters
lair!
There was a hill, somewhere around miles 67-71. This was the main hill of
the whole event, and although Dave had built it up (regularly comparing it to
parts of Everest!) it was again actually quite nice to be going on something
other than flat. And besides, when you go up, you get to come down again
and it was a (now rare) moment of trotting along at something faster than
walking pace which felt nice for the legs.
At some point we saw a meteorite as well. This has been confirmed by
several other people, so it wasn’t one of those middle-of-the-night-in-andultra
hallucinations. It was the best one I’ve ever seen – not one of those
piddly whizzing points of light that last a second, but something that looked
more like a mini comet, taking a good 5-10 seconds to drift across the bit of
sky that I could see. It disappeared down behind a wall, and I half expected a
boom as it hit the ground but nothing came.
30

The aid station at 71 miles (Streatley) had our second drop boxes. I had spare
socks, shorts, t-shirt and quite a bit of food (mostly sticky sickly gels etc –
what was I thinking?!), and I chose to ignore pretty much all of it as I was
happy with what I was wearing. I did change the batteries in my GPS as that
would see me through to the end of the race, and I also had a bottle of
Fortisip – it’s a drink for “disease related malnutrition” that my mother gave
to me to try out on a run. A tiny little bottle packs around 300 calories and
pretty high protein content, so I figured it had to help as my calorie intake at
the aid stations wasn’t anything like the amount I was burning while running.
Somewhere around here, I had the one real bad patch of the run (and in all
honestly, it wasn’t that bad). I felt tired, really tired. Mentally and physically
exhausted. Every step felt hard work, and the end seemed so far away. Dave
said I wasn’t allowed to quit – that if I tried he’d metaphorically kick me up
the arse as his hamstrings were too tight to allow him to actually do it. I just
tried to block out any negative thoughts and hold on to my past experience
that these episodes always pass. Sometimes in minutes, sometimes in a few
miles, but they always pass. When you’re in the middle of one, it’s difficult to
imagine, but sure enough after a mile or so I was feeling not exactly positive,
but a whole lot less negative.
I’m pretty sure the next section involved “the puddle incident”. Pretty close
to Wallingford (77.5 miles) I was a bit ahead of Dave and came to a big
muddle puddle on a narrow bit of path. I chose the left side of the puddle,
nearly slipped on the bank and grabbed out at a barbed wire fence. Luckily it
held out and I didn’t rip my hands apart, so I carefully stepped along holding
the fence. Dave – having seen the fence and my precarious tiptoe along –
opted for the right side, right on the edge of the river bank. “Just don’t fall in
the bloody river!” I said to him as I carried on, and pretty much immediately
from behind I heard a splash. Shit! I span round to see Dave on his arse in
the muddy puddle in the middle of the path. We were only a mile or so from
the aid station, but it must have been bloody cold with wet shorts and muddy
legs!
31

From Wallingford to Clifton Hampden is billed as 7.5 miles, but I had my GPS
with me so I knew it wasn’t. On all the race reports I’d read, there was a
suggestion that this leg of the race felt longer than it should have been, and I
can confirm that’s true. Things started to drag (even more) during this
stretch, feeling like it was taking forever to knock off each mile. The sky
started to lighten, but the temperature seemed to drop even more,
especially as we got back close to the river. My whole left arm (the one on
the river side) seemed to be frozen, and I was running along in “bandit
mode” with my buff over most of my face until my glasses steamed up so
much I couldn’t see, when I’d have to then drop it until I see again and then
repeat. I don’t think it would matter how tired you were at this point, it felt
dangerous to slow let alone stop. To think it was 1st May, and my shoes
were iced over on the back and the top from all the frost on the grass.
Eventually after about 90 minutes of slowly lightening sky we arrived at
Clifton Hampden – 85 miles in. I tried to eat some more food here, but my
appetite was just shot and quite frankly I just wanted this bloody thing over
with. Every aid station involved a cup of sugary tea now (and a the need to
pee about 15 minutes later without fail), and I was hoping I’d get through on
that. 2 more aid stations to go – just 15 miles, not much more than a half
marathon. It was just after 6am, so we had to go a little faster than 16
minute mile average to get in under 24 hours. That’s moderately fast
walking, but it’s also no time at all at aid stations, and no slowing down. I’d
been awake for over 24 hours and covered 85 miles on foot. Could I make
it? I had absolutely no idea.
We got going, back down to a bridge and then alongside the river again. The
sun was above the horizon now, and within 20 minutes or so it was starting
to warm up. The path was a bit rutted like the last 10+ miles which made
footing a little awkward, but we were keeping up a good pace. Dave couldn’t
run because of his hamstrings, but was pretty adept at fast power walking, so
I’d run on at about 13 min/mile pace for a few hundred metres, then walk a
32

it slower as he caught up. Together we pushed each other on with a few
sub 15 average miles, and soon arrived at Lower Radley.
It had warmed up enough for me to take my fleece off now. I grabbed a coke
and a few jelly babies and ran on for a bit to catch up with Dave who had
been a bit more efficient than me at the aid station. We were both pleased
to find that my GPS reported the real distance to the next aid station as a
good few hundred metres less than we thought, and we kept up our faster
pace, determination now taking over as we were into the less-than-10-milesto-go
phase.
The final aid station was a grab-and-go affair, coke and jelly babies and then
off we shot. Again the GPS reported a few hundred metres less (doesn’t
sound much but at 15 minute mile pace that’s a few minutes in the bank for
free!) and we powered on.
Dave had said on numerous occasions that he was just on for the finish as his
hamstring had put pay to his original target, but that I should go on and get a
good time. About 3 miles from the end, I picked up a bit more pace and
powered on ahead. The GPS ticked down the miles… 2.6, 2.3, 2.1, 1.99, 1.7,
1.4… the route went from fields out onto a path by the river, lots of people
about on Sunday morning strolls, birds out, the sun shining. But with a
focused tunnel vision, all I could see was the runners further down on the
path marking out the route I had to take. 0.99 miles, 0.8, 0.7… nearly there…
0.5, 0.4… The end came into sight on my GPS screen, and then I could see it
ahead – the big blue inflatable finish!
I’m not quite sure where it came from – I think just from a pure desire to get
this over and done with – but I started running. Not staggering, or 12
min/mile trotting, but 8:00 pace, then 7:00 pace… round the corner and into
the field, and down the finishing straight at about 5:30/mile pace according
to my Garmin!
33

100 miles: Time 23:30:09
Thanks
I went into this race without enough training to make me confident, but
came out with a sub 24 finish and “100 miles – One Day” buckle. Whilst it
was my legs and head that got me round on the day, I don’t think it would
have happened without a whole other bunch of people.
I travelled with Dave Stuart for over 12 hours and his chat and company got
me through some pretty tough night time miles. Falling on his arse at mile 76
provided a bit of a laugh too
The volunteers were wonderful and made the aid stations something to look
forward to – a bunch of friendly faces even in the black of night, helping in
any way they could.
There must be a lot of work that goes into making an event like this happen –
course marking, permits for various parts of the course, insurance, booking
34

halls, the IT stuff behind the scenes to have live updates on the website and
I’m sure lots more, so a big thanks to all the Centurion team for putting on
such a well organised and seamless event.
I’ve got to thank my “Moanday” mates – Mark, Steve and James – for taking
every opportunity for ripping the piss out of me at every opportunity! I did
alright though, eh?
Chris Edmonds, Ultra Blakes (Martin? I’ve never figured out your real name!)
and especially Roz Glover for your advice before the race – seriously Roz, you
changed my mindset on quite a few aspects of the race a week before and I
pretty much got me my sub 24
My sister deserves a thank you for starting me off on this whole running
thing. And my wife and kids especially for putting up with my disappearing
on stupidly long training runs, banging on about my races and getting all
grouchy in the last week or so before the race!
Sorry, got a bit carried away there – it’s like I’ve won a bloody Oscar!
Lessons Learnt
35
It’s cold by the river. The Centurion info mentions this. Believe it. I
reckon you could knock 3-5C off the actual temperature, which took
it to below zero for quite a few hours of the night.
A run/walk strategy paid massive dividends for me. I’ve never felt so
good at 50 miles, and I believe it’s the only way I got to the end in the
time I did.
My eTrex 30 was a godsend. I set it up by downloading the route
from the Centurion website, then using Garmin Basecamp to chop up
the track into a set of legs between aid stations. As I leave each aid
station, I choose the next track. The main screen shows distance to

the next aid station (the real distance, even if you get lost), and
ETA. This allows for pretty accurate pacing.
My new headtorch – a Suprabeam V3 Air – was really good. Takes 3
AAA batteries and was a bit lighter overall than my Petzl Myo RXP
and brighter too. Highly recommended.
The new Inov8 Race Ultra mitts I bought are ridiculously light but the
warmest gloves I’ve ever had. They’re completely waterproof and
although my hands still got cold they were just about comfortable for
most of the time. I suffer from fairly mild Raynaud’s but I usually end
up with hands that are pretty useless and painful even in gloves if the
temperature drops below about 4C, whereas I could still use my
hands even in sub zero temperatures with these mitts,
It may feel like it’s dragging in the night, but you will get a boost
when the sun comes up. I didn’t believe it in the night, but a ragged
determination comes into play as the sun rises and you get nearer
the end. The world seems a much friendlier place when it’s light, like
it’s trying to help you get to the end rather than hold you back.
I think stopping caffeine for a week before the race was very useful. I
didn’t have my first caffeine until Henley (51 miles) and then drank it
pretty much continuously through the night.
Decathlon anti-chafe underpants combined with compression shorts,
and a liberal helping of body glide to appropriate parts led to not a
single hint of chafing over 24 hours!
Injinji socks and 2Toms Anti-Blister powder worked a treat for the
feet too – tender spots on the balls of my feet and a couple of fairly
minor little-toe blisters was all I have to report.
Rich Meston
36

The Snowdon International Race
Ian Edwards
Now in its 41 st year The Snowdon International race (or Ras Ryngwladol Yr
Wyddfa in Welsh) is one of the most prestigious and iconic races in fell or
mountain running not just in the UK but also in Europe and the world.
It attracts International teams from Italy, France, USA, Kenya, England,
Scotland, Ireland, Wales and others. It has also doubled up as a World
Championship event. It is televised by S4C/C4.
Joe public can also compete, however entry opens, fills and closes very
quickly months before hand. Sarah and I were lucky enough to get in and
then spent as much time as possible training on the “flatlands” of
Dorset. The Stickler course in reverse was a particular favourite.
We travelled up to Snowdonia on the Friday morning, checked into our B+B
in Betws y Coed. Then registered and collected our numbers from the Hydro
museum in LLanberis which is race HQ /Expo. And adjacent to the
start/finish. The whole village has a buzz about it for the weekend with most
of the elite international runners staying in the nearby Royal Victoria Hotel.
The weather forecast for the race start at 2pm on Saturday wasn’t good with
heavy rain and poor visibility given especially on the summit.
Saturday dawned and the Met office were correct, so full waterproof body
cover as per the rules were required to be carried. We donned our wet gear
prior to the start as much to keep warm and dry but stripped them off 5
minutes before the start.
Our race plan was 1. Finish. 2. Don’t get injured on the descent. Pace
judgment was called for as 5 miles up is very demanding and we didn’t want
to be exhausted for the equally tiring but 100% concentration required for 5
miles of descent.
37

We set off after the start horn towards the back of the field of 650 runners.
The first and last mile is on tarmac to and from the start of the rocky tourist
path to the summit. This tarmac road ramps up at a ridiculous angle shortly
after the start and most runners are forced to walking pace before it eases
off to become runnable once on the mountain path. The next 4 miles are a
mix of run/walk depending on the rocky path/gradient. My mile splits for the
ascent varied from 11 minute to 19-minutes per mile. The decent was done
at 6.30 to 7.30, which is quite scary over that terrain.
The race commentary back down in LLanberis is relayed to the summit and so
as I approached the summit I was able to hear that the race leader was
approaching the finish! This was after seeing him and the other leaders flying
past me only 15 minutes previously.
The record for the descent is an incredible 21 minutes for the 5 miles. One
thing that can be a hindrance is the number of walkers on the path who are
oblivious to the runners.
Once at the top I took
the option of touching
the summit cairn, before
starting my descent.
The weather at this point
was a mix of wind and
showers with very poor
visibility and I was
questioning my decision
for just a vest. However
as you descended the
mountain things
improved and if you had
time to look up the views
were spectacular.
38

Reaching the final tarmac section to the finish after 9 miles my quads were
screaming, but the ridiculous ramp of the start mile was now a quad killer
and I finished the race as sore as any marathon I’ve ever run.
Afterwards food was laid on for all finishers in The Royal Victoria Hotel which
was a nice touch and opportunity to chat to some of the Internationals. The
Irish team seemed to be concentrating on “rehydration”.
Overall we were proud to have taken part and watching the highlights that
Sunday was also good.
Results:
1st - Chris Smith (England) summit 41.28 finish 1:05.48
1st Lady – Sarah Mulligan (Ireland) summit 50.39 finish 1:20.52
17th Ian Edwards PR summit 1:04.16 finish 1:39.02
354th Sarah Chaloner PAC summit 1:09.07 finish 1:53.13
39

parkrun reviews – a personal view by Ian Edwards
Poole: fast, PB course, too many runners,
weather affected, excellent facilities.
Blandford: fast, PB course, low key, good
facilities.
Penrhyn: Not fast but starts inside a castle and has spectacular views.
Cwmbran: Fast, PB potential, out and back, scenic.
Salisbury: rubbish, umpteen laps of a small park weaving in and around
flower beds. Nice Waitrose nearby.
Weymouth: Fast-ish, but pre-race warm up chant ridiculous.
Bushy: Fast, PB course, huge numbers, the original so demands a visit for any
“tourist”
Basildon: 3 laps, slight undulations.
Southend: 3 laps adjacent to the North Sea so weather affected.
Southampton: narrow start, uphill section, quality large field.
Brockenhurst (summer): 4 laps of football pitches.
Brentwood: scenic, undulating country park course, all off road.
Portobello (Edinburgh): 3 laps of pleasant park, 9.30 start.
40

Hackney Marshes: fast, flat out and back, surprising green area in East end of
London a short walk from the Olympic park, good facilities.
Keswick: out and back scenic flatish course on disused former railway line.
Eastleigh: laps of football pitches, all off road.
Richmond: 1 lap scenic, undulating course.
Bournemouth: laps of park/football pitches.
Basingstoke: 2 laps of undulating park, twisting course.
________________________________________________________
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opinions of the individual contributors & do not necessarily represent the official
views of Poole Runners.
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resulting from the publishing of any written material in this ‘magazine’
© Copyright Poole Runners
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permission via the editor.
41

BERMUDA HALF MARATHON Tuesday May 24th 2016 Carole Ingham
Alarm set for 6am, number pinned onto running vest and time chip secured
to shoe in readiness for the Bermuda Half Marathon starting at 10am the
next day....................................
We were lucky enough to be invited out to Bermuda to stay with our friend,
Scott Neil and Heather Brain, which happened to coincide with Bermuda Day.
This started with the half marathon and ended with the most amazing
carnival and street party. We were well aware that it would be extremely hot
with very high humidity, but seemed silly not to take part, so we entered with
the attitude that we would take part, enjoy the atmosphere and if it meant
walking up hills, so be it!!!
Bermuda Day is a public holiday celebrated on May 24 th or the weekday
nearest to May 24 th if it falls on a weekend. It was formerly known as Empire
Day initially to celebrate Queen Victoria’s birthday. It was first celebrated on
May 24 th 1902. In 1958, Empire Day became known as Commonwealth Day
and was actually celebrated as Bermuda Day for the first time in 1979. The
day marks the beginning of summer for most Bermudians.
On the morning of Bermuda Day, we had breakfast, bags and drinks packed,
ready to set off on our mopeds for the journey to Hamilton where we caught
the ferry over to Docklands for the start of the race.
The atmosphere was fantastic...............Scott knew several of the runners
taking part and introduced us to a few of the legends, one being Ed Seagar
who had won the race five times in a row, 1957 – 1961 and on one other
occasion. He was now 85 years of age and running with his son. Amazing!!!
42

Scott set off near the front of the pack and Heather, Paul and I stayed
towards the back setting off at an easy pace. I had my camera to take a few
memorable shots on the way round.
I have got to say, that I did not realise how hilly Bermuda was, so in order to
conserve energy, Paul and I walked up some of the hills. We were certainly
not alone in doing this. The crowd support was second to none. We even
passed a nursing home and were cheered on by the staff who had pushed the
residents out to watch in their wheel chairs.
Apparently two or three days before the bank holiday, families and friends
would mark their spot on the kerb stones with their names, as to where they
were going to pitch their gazebos for the day!! Can you imagine that
happening over here??
Paul and I stayed together all the way around and completed the course in
2hrs 25mins which was not bad under the circumstances. Scott was
disappointed with his time of just over 2hrs, but it transpired that 70
Bermudians did not finish as it turned out to be the hottest half marathon on
record so we felt very pleased with our achievement and I can honestly say
that I actually enjoyed it and would definitely do it again if I had the
opportunity. The legend, 85 year old Ed, finished in 3hrs!! Amazing!!! I
actually came in 3 rd female over 60, but because I was not a resident in
Bermuda, was not eligible for a prize.
The drinks and cold sponges on the way round were so welcoming. You really
felt part of their big day. The carnival to follow was superb. All the BBQ’s
were lit, beer and wine flowing. A fun day to be a part of with such an electric
atmosphere!!
43

The rest of the holiday was so relaxing and we were so well looked after. The
island is only 26 miles long and a mile wide, and we explored every inch of
the island on our mopeds – from the bustling resorts frequented by the
visitors from the cruise ships to the beautiful quiet beaches that nobody
other than the locals knew about. We enjoyed snorkelling, a trip out on a
motor boat to explore more deserted beaches and view the houses of the
rich and famous, early morning runs before it got too hot along the
waterfront and just generally relaxing on the golden sands of the beautiful
deserted beaches.
Snorkelling was a popular hobby being able to experience the beauty of the
coral and many types of fish and marine life that frequent the shores.
Watching the turtles come to the surface and the sky ray leaping out of the
water to the many beautiful birds. There were no poisonous creatures other
44

than the Portuguese man of war. The cost of living is extremely high as all
food produce is imported from America in container ships.
John Lennon completed his final album ‘Double Fantasy’ after finding
inspiration during his visit to Bermuda in July/August 1980. He spent an idyllic
summer here where he went sailing, met locals and explored several of the
beautiful areas which re-energised his creative muse. His son Sean spent
some time with his father in Bermuda although he was only five. Yoko Ono
didn’t like the heat so didn’t spend too much time there. He wrote his music
by the side of the shore from his rented home and shared a drink or two and
a night out with people he encountered there.
One of Lennon’s favourite places was the Bermuda Botanical Gardens, and it
was here that he spotted the Double Fantasy freesia sign. He was enchanted
by the name and used it as the title for his final album later that year.
Unfortunately he was shot in December of the same year. A circular
sculpture was unveiled in the Botanical Gardens on June 21, 2012 – 32 years
after Lennon’s Bermuda visit.
Scott Neil wrote a book focusing on John Lennon’s visit to Bermuda, following
numerous interviews with people that had dealings with him during his stay.
It is a really interesting read and can thoroughly recommend it. It is called:
Lennon Bermuda by Scott Neil.
Well that is a very brief account of our very busy fortnight but hopefully gives
you a feel of what this beautiful island has to offer. Can well understand why
Scott continues to extend his contract out there with the Western Gazette,
but then working and holidaying are two completely different things!!!!!
45
Carole Ingham

‘100 Club’
The ‘100 Club’ is an alternative way of paying your Club membership fees.
You choose to pay a monthly Standing Order of £4 for Club membership,
instead of the standard annual membership. However, your name is entered
into a monthly draw where you stand to win monthly prizes of £50, £35, £20,
£15 & £10.
Jam 2016 Winners
Feb 2016 Winners
£50 Roy Fry £50 Brian Panton
£35 Ian Driver £35 Bob Frampton
£20 Alwyn Dominey £20 Rex Legge
£15 Khalil Ghabaee £15 Sue Wardman
£10 Steve Claxton £10 Andy Warren
March 2016 Winners
April 2016 Winners
£50 Marion Frampton £50 Anne Towner
£35 Peter Ferenczy £35 Mike Grist
£20 Dave Hayes £20 Jill Daish
£15 David Ozanne £15 Vicky Jansson
£10 Chris Guerrier £10 Reinhard Lehmann
May 2016 Winners
June 2016 Winners
£50 Steve Davis £50 Jill Daish
£35 Lucy Tidbury £35 Vicky Jansson
£20 Kate Towner £20 Darren Lock
£15 Janice Guerrier £15 Bruce Cameron
£10 Janet Damen £10 Bob Frampton
46

‘100 Club’
July 2016 Winners
£50 Chris Stratford
£35 Andy Warren
£20 Rex Legge
£15 Bob Frampton
£10 Howard Lewis
_________________________________________________________
THANK YOU & NEXT ISSUE...
Thank you as always to everyone who has contributed to this issue.
SPRINT wouldn’t exist without you.
The next issue of SPRINT will be published end of 2016/early 2017.
Deadline details will be posted on the Poole Runners web site, facebook page
& twitter nearer the time.
But, please don’t wait until then, contributions welcome from Junior & Senior
members, friends & family ... anytime!
Email: sprintpoolerunners@gmail.com
47

Thunder Run 2016
Kelly Frampton, Bob Frampton, Maz Frampton, Steve Amos &
Jenny Beckett.
Thunder Run is a really popular 24 hour team relay event, and many more of
these are popping up around the country as there is more and more demand
for this.
The event used to be sponsored by Adidas, and is held in Catton Park in
Walton on Trent.
The event starts at 12 o’clock midday on the Saturday, and finishes at 12
o’clock midday on the Sunday. The rules are a member of the team has to be
on the course at all times.
In 2013 Steph Green and Lucy Tidbury put together various teams to run in
the event. Needless to say “The Frampton’s” took part in this and we all
loved it.
This was actually Steve’s birthday weekend, and the first year we were
together, so he knew there would be a lot of running involved in being “a
Frampton” from the start! Since then we have been trying to enter teams
each year, but with no luck due to the popularity of the event.
Our luck came round again when I was able to enter a team of 5 in the 2016
event – now sponsored by Continental Tyres.
This was going to be a bigger challenge this time, as we ran in teams of 8 in
2013, so we had longer rest breaks, and not as many laps for each of us to
run.
48

We decided on the rota by the time of day we would be doing our first laps.
We all decided we would do 2 laps of 10k to start with, while we were fresh!
Bob (legs, see page 7 –Ed) loves running in the sun so he went off first at
midday on the Saturday.
I like to follow in my father’s footsteps so I went second at about 2pm, then I
handed over to Jen at 4pm.
Maz went fourth as she wanted to run in the evening when the weather had
cooled down about 6pm, followed by Steve who had to wait 8 hours to do his
first run, and watched the sun set.
49

We then all did our night lap between 10pm on Saturday and 3am on Sunday.
By around 5am when I did my morning lap, I got to see the sun come up, so I
started running with my head torch, and by halfway was running in daylight.
Running alone in the woods with just you and a head torch is one of the most
exhilarating things I have done, you feel a real sense of achievement.
All in all Bob, myself and Jen did five 10k laps in 24 hours, and Maz and Steve
did four 10k laps.
With only a couple of hours rest in between to get changed, eat and sleep,
we all pulled through as a team.
We cannot recommend this or similar events enough, and if you want a new
challenge that still involves running, look no further!
Kelly Frampton
50

The Kat & Judy Show – History repeats itself 33 years on in the
Heptathlon High Jump
Rex Bale
I was reminded when seeing Katrina J-T achieve a British high jump record of
1.98 metres that Judy Simpson, nee Livermore did the same thing in Helsinki
at the first World Championships in 1983 which I was privileged to witness at
close quarters. She went over 1.92 metres which like Kat made her heat
winner. Unfortunately the parallel continued in the javelin where Kat had
poor throws which put her out of the medals (6 th ) and Judy had three failures
which put her out of the competition altogether.
I felt at the time that Judy's trip into the city in between the long jump and
the javelin to do some shopping and sign autographs was rather a distraction,
when she should have been resting!
Both Kat and Judy are from Liverpool. Judy was born in Kingston, Jamaica
and Kat's father was born in the Bahamas. Judy had a bit of celebrity fame
when appearing as Nightshade in Gladiators (1993-6) but suffered personal
tragedy when their daughter died of meningitis during a national outbreak of
the disease in 1999.
Rex Bale
Photo:
Photo:
David Goldman/AP
Getty images
51

THE VIA PODENSIS
Barry Mitchell
In the last week of May, I finally arrived at my destination in Southwest
France having completed my walk of the Via Podensis. It was a wonderful
adventure for me. Somewhat arduous as I walked an average of 13 miles a
day for 36 consecutive days. – But very enjoyable. I met many people,
passed through many villages, saw much birdlife and even managed to
improve my very limited knowledge of the French language.
The Route
For those of you who don’t know, the Via Podensis begins at Le Puy en Velay
in central France and proceeds in a South Westerly direction for 742km
(460miles) finishing at St Jean Pied de Port – just North of the French
Pyrenees. Le Puy en Velay is located in the centre of France in the Haute-
Loire Departement.
The Via Podensis is one of several routes, which have been walked for many
centuries by pilgrims on their way to Santiago de Compostella in Northwestern
Spain. The
Cathedral in Santiago
de Compostella is
reputed to house the
remains of St. James
the Apostle, who was
one of the disciples of
Jesus.
The Cathedral and
Town, Le-Puy-en-Velay
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My journey began in Le Puy en Velay on the 21 st April. I had some trouble in
finding my way out of the town and managed to ask a few people the way (in
my limited French). Once having departed the town, it was then very easy to
follow the path as it was well way marked with distinctive red and white
stripes. And indeed this was the case for the whole of the journey.
53
Via Podensis, Way mark
The weather over the first 7 days was variable. I experienced 2 days when it
was snowing plus a cold northerly wind. But thereafter, apart from a couple
of rainy days, the weather was fantastic.
I deliberately chose April to commence the walk, as it was springtime when
trees were leafing, birds migrating etc etc. It’s such a glorious time of the
year, isn’t it?
I had my accommodation booked for every night of the walk and my main
baggage was transported by a baggage company between each Hotel. I
therefore had a specific destination to reach every day and of course I didn’t

have any concerns about not finding accommodation each evening. In
general, the Hotels were two star standard and quite good. I decided to mark
them with a score ranging from 1 to 10. Scored most of them 10 and one
exceptional Gite I even scored 11 but there were one or two around 6.
I passed through many small villages along the way and stayed over night in
37 of them. Some were large towns, the names of which you may be
familiar, such as Cahors, Lectoure and Condom. In Lectoure, I stayed in the
Hotel de Bastard. Nice Hotel but such a weird name. Some people say that
Condom should have come before the Hotel de Bastard.
Much of the walking was on mixed terrain. But it was nothing like as severe
as my South West Coast Path walk last year (with Geoff Scott) where there
were steep hills to climb and descend. The Via Podensis comprised much
walking on traffic free roads, and along forest paths. And pretty much all the
time one could hear a wonderful chorus of birds singing from the trees and
bushes. Even though there was much farming going on, the farms have many
dense tree copses, which provide ideal habitat for nightingales, cuckoos and
golden orioles of which there were many hundreds. I could be walking along
a path and hear a nightingale singing in the bushes close by. Such a beautiful
song! But try as I might, it was so difficult to actually see one. In addition to
the birds already mentioned, one could hear just about every other type of
warbler singing away.
A speciality of South Western France is its high quality beef and of course its
many vineyards. I saw many Charolais cattle and passed through many
vineyards.
While all the villages on the walk had something interesting to offer, I think
the most fascinating one was Conques. Conques has a lot of mediaeval
54

Bridge over the
River Nive, Saint-
Jean-Pied-de-Port
architecture -preserved over the centuries- and its Cathedral has a
Tympanum portraying the last Judgement. The Tympanum had managed to
escape destruction by the Jacobins during the revolution. The Cathedral
organist put on a concert when I was there and I was somewhat surprised
when I heard the familiar strains of Greensleeves, followed by a plethora of
British Pop tunes and a magnificent finale of the
Animals “House of the Rising Sun”.
The days passed by. ‘There were many rivers to
cross” (song Geoff) on the walk, the main ones
being the rivers Lot and Garonne. I crossed
many streams, which probably fed into these
wide rivers and saw the occasional person; fly
fishing for trout and salmon.
With 3 days to go, the Pyrenees came into view
and I realised the end was near. This was good
news as my feet were very sore at the end of
each day and the prospect of actually riding in a
55

ailway carriage was becoming an obsession. Up to this point, I had been
carefully husbanding my feet in the evenings by immersing them in cold
water and then applying Biofreeze.
I arrived at my final destination, St. Jean Pied de Port on Thursday the 26 th
May. Much joy.
I explored the town for the remaining hours of the day. St. John Pied de Port
is another fascinating town with many buildings from the mediaeval period.
The town marks a focal point where many of the Northern pilgrimage routes
come together and where pilgrims depart for the final 800km trek to Santa
de Compostella.
A little footsore and quite tired, I arrived back in England on the Friday having
lost 6lbs in weight.
Conclusion
In the beginning, I had been a little reticent about making this walk, not least
because I was walking on my own in a different country and having to adapt
to another language with which I was only vaguely familiar. In the end the
French people I met seemed to appreciate anyone who has a go at their
language. I experienced no real problems and found French people were
kindly disposed towards me.
I’m very satisfied and happy about my journey. I met many people and think
I’m a little better in speaking French.
Barry Mitchell
56

DAVEENA….
Sat in the garden with my G&T getting the late sun I’m reflecting on a life well
spent!!! I certainly don’t think we RUNNERS allow the grass to grow under our
feet!!
And well what have i been up to since the last SPRINT?? Well most will know
Isla has had her 3rd year university in France, Lille , albeit trashed by the
England supporters , is a lovely city of cobbled streets and market squares with
a lovely park with a small zoo for along Sunday run ,but Isla didn’t like the
course (Uni not up to much ) so found herself a placement in Paris !!
Right opposite the Louis Vuitton shop on the Champs Elysees !!! She had an
apartment in the district of Rome which was 10 mins to a very well used park,
20mins to the Arc de Triomphe and 30 to the park that they use for PARKRUN
!!!! But typically French they don’t do PARKRUN the Parisians just run the park
!!!
So on my 3rd attempt at finding it I manage a lovely run with about 30 other
Australians, Danish, English and Tasmanians oh and 1 French man AND its
down by the Rolland
Garros race course end if
you ever get the chance!
57

That was the weekend that I decided to sneak another weekend before she
left as I had to go back to watch the final stage of the TOUR DE FRANCE!!!
So last weekend was the 15 th Curcuit de Sanguire , the off road racing I did in
Brittany last year and what with the last leg of Martin Yelling’s South Coast
LONG RUN HOME under my belt , I felt confident enough to do the LONG run
this time last year I was injured and downhill was a struggle)!!
So we congregated in the sports field across the road from my friend’s house
from Jersey for the 9.30am start and there were a couple of hundred of us
forming an orderly queue as a lot of the early paths are very steep and single
file BUT once we separated at about 5km it really thinned out .... The word
COURAGE was used a lot!!!
It was magnificent if a little quite as they all seemed to be taking it so
seriously, apart from when short cutting?? Mind I have to say I didn’t but
laughed at myself for NOT!!!
Anyway 3 hours and 9 minutes later according to Gail, I was eating a crepe
and drinking my first if MANY beers and would truly love to take a group if
anybody fancies it??!! Oh and apparently it WAS my idea to run at 8 the next
morning albeit they also said I bounced off a few walls to bed that night!! (It
was supposed to be 25km but was nearer 17 miles!!!)
Now a quick mention of the wonderful event that is the Shapwick Mile in
honour of our local Olympian and organised this time by Gemma & Jez Bunce
and her partner which is an absolute must every 4 years to coincide with the
Olympics!!! A great turn out of Poole runners and far better cake than
Lulworth (sorry ladies!!)
58

Now I’ve probably rambled on too long but now I have an announcement!!!!
I’ve just taken on the lease of a cafe opposite Poole Park called Peppermint
( well that’s what it’s called for now ) so watch this space as naturally Poole
Runners and friends will have a discount and a great Buttie after parkrun !!!
As always in sport and life enjoy
Daveena xx
59

Memories of London 2012
Peter Portnoi
Rio 2016 has brought back memories of our own 2012 games where I joined
thousands of volunteers to be a Games Maker and help in making our event
the best it could be.
I volunteered for both the Olympic event and the Paralympics and must
admit I was disappointed to only be chosen for the latter. Because it started
later it meant I would have to cut my holiday short by a week and fly home
early and I would miss seeing some of our star athletes but I thought that as I
had given a commitment I should honour it.
I duly flew home and found some digs in East London. I thought it would be
fun but little did I expect to see some of the most determined and brave
athletes in the world, who had both the packed crowd and most of the
Games Makers both cheering and in tears in equal measure.
I will never forget the high jumpers running up on one leg and clearing
heights we would all be proud of and I spent 8 amazing days in the stadium
seeing the likes of Peacock and Weir winning gold medals with an audience
creating a noise I will never forget.
Their motto was one of concentrating on what you can do rather than dwell
on what you can't, something we should all aspire to especially us 'plodders'.
2017 will see the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane and I'm now thinking
about going out and helping our Aussie friends, they do speak a language
something similar to ours, anyone want to join me? Peter Portnoi
60

You can but Tri.....
The Dorset Try-a-Tri
Colehill, 7 th August 2016
David Ozanne
I have wanted to do a triathlon for some time. I always find it rather heroic,
and look up to our more celebrated multi-event athletes, like Serena
O’Connor, Mike Akers and Helen Dyke among recent role models, and of
course Bruce Cameron, very much an iconic senior figure in the club when I
first joined (and still is!) And my nemesis, the evergreen Jim Aylmore. But I
never thought I would get around to doing one. Too bad a swimmer; too
inexperienced a cyclist; and come to think of it, a pretty average runner.
However, I learned a thing or two in the spring of 2009. Beset by Achilles
tendon problems whilst training for the London Marathon, I was unable to
run from late January to early March. The Marathon was on 26 th April, and I
had to keep up cardiovascular fitness. I began cycling regularly and swimming
once in the week. My eventual marathon time of 3:26:18 – on 7 weeks of
running - was admittedly my slowest, but at the time it was only 6:28 slower
than my PB. My only explanation for the rapid recovery was the cycling and
the swimming, which I maintained during my injury and for a month after
returning to running. It spoke volumes for cross-training. I told my wife Maria
I had learned a lot from the experience, and said I planned to finally do that
triathlon. She even bought me a book to help me prepare. But somehow I
just didn’t get round to it.
That is, until this year. Ashamed of my lack of moral fibre, and inspired by
others around me, I vowed to do one before the year end. Serena’s father,
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Simon, told me about the Try-a-Tri events. Instead of doing to full Olympic
distance (1500m swim; 40k bike; 10k run) you can start with a sprint
distance. Typically this would be 750m swim; 20k bike; 5k run. In fact, in
some the distances are less for the swim section (400m or even 250m) and
the cycle ride (16k-25k). That sounded more appealing. I eventually settled
for the Dorset Try-a-Tri, typically held in May and/or August. It has occurred
twice in 2016. August seemed right for me. It would give me a bit of time to
get ready and the weather would be warm. The swim was only 250m - which
is good because I am a truly appalling swimmer – and the cycle ride was 16k
(10 miles), which also seemed to fit. I did not get a road bike until summer
2015, and did not start to ride over 20 miles until then (I did not find it easy
to do so on a hybrid bike).
I saw that my club mate Annabel Thorne had taken part in the May 2016
event and did well. I also found out that Esther Downes had entered the
August event, so I would have some company; brilliant! I entered early in July
this year. The cost was £45, paid online via the Results Triathlon website:
www.resultstriathlon.co.uk It sounds a lot, and of course it is, but then there
is a lot of organisation, the premises have to be hired (including use of a
swimming pool), and I guess the insurance costs are significant. The event is
held at St Michael’s Middle School, and as well as the adult event there are
shorter events for children. We arrived there in good time to set up our gear
ready for the transitions. Esther arrived with husband Paul and youngster Ella
in support. Paul did look a bit peaky and regretted having one beer too many
the night before, though he probably needed it because Esther was totally up
for the race and really quite irrepressible.
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It is difficult to know what to wear, but Results Triathlon provide some
helpful guidance and you pretty much know what you need. Esther had a
rather natty tri suit, which is ideal because you can wear the same thing for
all three disciplines. I didn’t have one, so wore Skins compression shorts for
the swim and put a vest on at the first transition. I do not recommend this,
however, because when you are wet and in a hurry it is difficult to pull the
vest on. Don’t tell anyone, but Esther took pity on my and helped me in
Transition 1 by pulling mine down at the back!
Entrants are required to state their predicted swim time so that the swim can
be organised in a series of staggered heats. Clearly it would be impractical for
34 swimmers to be in the pool at the same time, so they are grouped
according to predicted time, with the slowest swimmers in the early starts
63

and the faster ones at the end. Esther predicted 4:30 and I predicted 6:40 for
the swim, based on our typical swimming speed for 250m in your average
pool. So Esther was in one of the later starts. We both elected for
breaststroke because we were more confident with it; but in truth you are
better off with freestyle because it is a proper triathlon stroke: leaner, more
streamlined, and faster.
The school pool is only 17.5m, so there were 14 lengths, which is a lot of
turns. In addition, the pool is 0.9m at the shallow end and you tend to find
your feet drag when you turn. Also there are 2 swimmers per lane; the pool is
narrow with only 3 lanes, and 6 swimmers generate a fair amount of
turbulence in a pool that size. Good preparation for the cut and thrust of a
blanket start to a proper triathlon race in open water I suppose, but in truth I
was not prepared for the challenge of trying to swim faster and therefore
taking in more air when the water splashes in your face. In other words, I
found myself gulping down water. That messed with my form in the water,
and I was very disappointed with my performance.
Esther did rather better, finishing 1:41 faster than me, though both of us had
much slower times than we predicted. We think this is because the first
transition time was incorporated in the first split (in higher level triathlons
they separate out the transition times). Transitions take place in the school
playground. Everyone has their bike and kit placed in advance at a set
position at some point around a railing shaped like three sides of a square,
while judges observe for safety, timing and fair play. Once you have your kit
on, you jog out with your bike to the front entrance of the school (about 50
yards) where you mount the bike on Colehill Lane and set off on the second
discipline.
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The bike ride goes down Colehill Lane past the Barley Mow, on past
Whitesheet toward Holt, then Gaunts Common before checking back,
through Furzehill and up Burts Hill to Colehill. It is a lovely undulating ride,
marred only by two cattle grids just before the junction with Holt Road, and a
bit of a sharp climb from the Horn’s Inn on the way back to the school. Both
Esther and I were pleased with our performance in the bike stage. Neither of
us have done a lot of cycling, and Esther had to borrow a bike, but our splits
(again including the transition time) showed that we averaged 18 mph which
didn’t seem too shabby on an undulating course. After all, even Alistair
Brownlee only averaged 26 mph in the Olympics!
However, we both found it lonely to be honest. Both of us were at the back
of our swim groups and set off on our bike stage in isolation. There was
literally no one in sight to chase. In my case, I was overtaken by two very fast
cyclists from the penultimate wave of swimmers, but they were flying and I
was never going to hunt them down! The ride soon passed, and it was back
to the school for the second transition (T2).
65

Dismounting at the gate, we had to push the bikes around the school to park
the bike on the rack ten remove our helmets. After changing out of cycling
shoes and into running shoes, it was out of the school gates and off downhill
again. The route retraces the bike route at first. I glanced thirstily at the
Barley Mow, but it was too early even for me and I was happy enough to
continue turn left onto Long Lane, safe in the knowledge that this at last was
my discipline. Finally I was overtaking people; company at last, albeit fleeting!
The final climb, left at the Horn’s Inn and up Greenhill road, seemed brutal
and by then my left calf was telling me I am too old for all this nonsense.
Nonetheless I managed to grind it out, turning left onto Greenhill Lane, along
Wimborne Road and back to the finish. What a relief! Even at a much shorter
“sprint” distance, competing in a race involving 3 disciplines in undoubtedly a
real challenge. Esther was 9 th fastest in the run section, and I was 6 th so we
66

feel we can hold our heads up high as Poole Runners! Maybe we need to
work on the other disciplines a bit, but that is half the fun of it. What a great
thing to learn a new skill; I shall certainly enter another triathlon.
Final result
Name
David Ozanne
Swim
Split
Swim
Rank
Bike Split
Bike
Rank
Run
Split
Run
Rank
Race
Time
Pens
08:41 25 33:27 17 22:32 6 1:04:40 0 16
Race
Position
Esther Downes 07:00 20 34:53 22 23:48 9 1:05:41 0 18
Dorset Tri a Try – 7 TH August – Esther's Bit!
I’d had my eye on these events for a while so my birthday in April brought me
a shiny new bike to practise on – much to Paul’s slight nerves as I lack any
sense of space, balance and general road awareness at the best of times!
I only decided 5 weeks before the Triathlon to enter and set myself a training
programme. I really enjoyed the training aspects as I got up early 3-4 times a
week and completed 2 sessions, back to back. I might run to the gym, spin
and run back again. Or I could cycle to swimming pool and then a longer cycle
after a quick swim. I felt really energised and fit and soon got used to the jelly
legs post cycle onto the running although it was harder to keep a good form
after a long cycle.
Fellow Poole Runner Lucy Culkin lent me a road bike for the event to help
speed me up as I quite surprised how slow I was whilst cycling – the advice
from my husband to ‘pedal faster’ didn’t seem to make a lot of difference!
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I was incredibly nervous on the day and this wasn’t helped watching Paul
trying to put the front wheel on my bike with shaking hands and a very fuzzy
head following a night out and very little sleep! But set up and ready I could
sit back and watch those in early swim times. It was daunting to see however
that the later times entrants were certainly looking fitter and leaner with
bikes and equipment to match!
Once we got going it was a totally different feel to any race I had done. I was
last out the pool and never caught up any cyclists except to see two whizz
past me at incredible speed that would have been from the later swim group
after mine. The run was the same, just me running up and down a road with
jelly legs. At the finish Maria and Paul were there to cheer me to the finish,
but I totally miss having at the end a row of Poole Runners shouting out my
name whilst running under a large finish banner!
I will definitely do another sprint Tri - but next time I will train for longer and
find one with a cheering crowd...perhaps even learn how to sea swim – oh
now that could be the next challenge!
Till then – I'll be running Club Champs races just so I get a cheering finish!
Esther Downes
68

Q & A……..
SPRINT asks:
1.) What was your favourite moment of the Rio Olympics?
2) Do you have any quirky habits while running?
3) Who would you like to get stuck in a lift with?
REPLIES:
Khalil Ghabaee
1. Mo Farah despite the mid race tumble, powered clear of the field in the
final 100m to win the 10000m.
2. Talk loudly with and sometimes scream at myself.
3. Simone Biles with her stunning performance won the woman's gymnastic
all round Olympic gold. Failing that I will settle to be alone in the lift with
Mariah Carey while she is singing "hero" to me.
69

John Llewellyn
1. Mo Farah winning his 4th Olympic Gold, what an achievement.
2. Count to 60 with every breath then start again.
3. Mo Farah.
Chris Brolan
1. Favourite moment of the Olympics was seeing Usain Bolt win his 9th and
final Gold medal.
2. I always wear an under shirt when running no matter what the weather
which is a bit quirky.
3. And I'd like to be stuck in a lift with Ranulph Fiennes the explorer as he'd
have a great deal to talk about.
_______________________________________________________________
Paula Barker
1. Favourite part of the Olympics was Mo Farah winning both the 5000 and
10000m, Amazing Runner!!!
2. Quirky habits whilst running , don’t think I do , although I do talk a lot , and
have had the best conversations whilst running , big thankyou to Pete Portnoi
helping me with interview techniques a couple of years ago
3. Paula Radcliffe, I would love to have a chat about her running experiences
over the years.
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Esther Downes
1. The gymnastics! Watching Max Whitlock achieve his gold medals with such
calm - incredible!
2. Ask me about the podcasts I listen to ... (not for printing!)
3. Someone who I can learn from - a sports nutritionist perhaps to discuss my
massive interest in how food affects you and your sport!
Helen Guerrier
1. Mo Farah winning double gold
2. I smile whenever I see anyone!
3. Probably Zac Efron
Howard Lewis
1. Pretty much all of it. Clearly Mo’s 5k and 10k double wasn’t too shabby!! I
also love watching lesser televised sports, particularly Table Tennis, as I play a
bit myself.
2. I don’t think so. I would say ask anyone who’s behind me. However, there
aren’t many behind me these days!
3. Anyone who could fix it pretty quickly. I’m not a great fan of lifts,
particularly the ones with glass windows.
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Matt East
1. My favourite bit would actually be the cycling night Jason Kenny won his
Kirin race after 2 ‘false’ starts which nearly cost him the chance to even race,
then to see him and Laura Trott meet and the pure joy on her face. The sheer
emotion of it all made it just that much better than the Mo Farah wins in the
5000m and 10000m, where I was screaming at the TV but kind of knew he
had it.
2. Not really, unless you count ‘walking up steep bits’ as quirky…?
3. Probably the GB women’s rugby 7’s team. Purely out of professional
admiration for their athleticism of course.
______________________________________________________________
Luretta Spearing
1. Tough one because there's been so many great moments. I'm a fan of
Nicola Adams so it was good to see her get gold again, she just seems to
down to earth and happy to be there. More obviously, it was good to see Mo
get up and go on to win after falling, true British determination.
2. Aside from always agreeing to enter another marathon while I'm running
one you mean? I'm not sure...I think all my habits are perfectly normal but
some might not agree. I do like to paint my nails before a marathon, it gives
me something nice to look at if the scenery isn't so good or the going gets
tough!
3) Didier Drogba, or from the running world Paula, would love to pick her
brain and thank her for inspiring me to run my first marathon.
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Ian Driver
1. The Hockey Final (How did they win that!)
2. Clearing my throat by coughing phlegm directly out without spitting
3. Susan George, but about 40 years ago! (Debbie's answer is the engineer as
she doesn't like lifts)
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Neil Sexton
1. Many great moments but for me, Mo winning the 5k to do the ‘double
double’.
2. I can’t resist exploring and have got myself lost a few times taking a look
at new routes. Managed to turn a 10k run into a 10 mile run once!
3. Someone funny and interesting, John Cleese or Harry Enfield
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Daveena Tweed
1. Mo winning the 5 km as he was so pumped up!!
2. What that I can talk down a 100 metres sprint??
3. Usain Bolt
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Dave Heath
1. Too many to mention although the Copacabinmen receiving 'Gold Medals'
on the beach was quite funny.
2. I have this annoying habit of being overweight and being slow to put one
foot in front of the other resulting in some crap times.
3. Any sex mad female between the ages of 18 and 80. (Well when you get
to my age you can't afford to be fussy)
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Kelly Frampton
1. What's been your favourite moment of the Rio Olympics?
GB winning a bronze medal in the Women’s Triathlon
2. Talking to myself to keep motivated!
3. Channing Tatum
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Annabel Thorne
1. I really enjoyed the opportunity to watch a variety of sports at the press of
a button. I've loved watching the triathlon and athletics but the highlight for
me was most definitely seeing Max Whitlock finally getting recognised and
earning his gold medals (in less than 2 hours) on the floor and pommel in
gymnastics.
2. Boringly, I don't think I really have any quirky habits. I do have a tendency
to chat away to anyone nearby though!
3. I think the obvious answer here would have to be a lift-engineer or
escapologist!
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Sarah Swift
1. Mo Farah's 10k
2. Apart from laughing a lot, thereby giving my position away, I seem to lean
when sprinting for the finish line, which makes for rubbish photos.
3. The Poole Runners Live Music Social Crew - they know who they are.
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Kate Towner
1. Really? Just one? I've given this some serious thought and I can't get it
down to less than 4, sorry. So I'd have to go with -
Adam Peaty winning gold on the 100m breaststroke and smashing
the world record,
Bryony Page unexpectedly winning silver in the trampoline, she was
just so happy, excited and surprised all at once when she won.
The Brownlee brothers hugging on the finish line of the men’s
triathlon having won gold and silver.
The saga of the green diving pool.
2. Not especially, although, if I'm honest, when I get tired I do sing to myself,
usually just in my head, but if there is no-one about, sometime out loud. A
few years ago in the seven sisters marathon I was making my way up Beachy
Head near the end, it was freezing and so foggy you could hardly see where
you were going, I was shattered, so started singing something fairly loudly to
keep myself thinking positively, when Betty and Chris Hopkins suddenly
appeared out of the gloom and caught me!
3. Well, Howie would probably be the obvious choice, but failing that, a lift
engineer, or Adam Peaty in his swim trunks?
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Jo Westhead
1. Max Whitlock getting 2 gold medals in men’s artistic gymnastics.
2. I hope not!
3. Robbie Williams...
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Lloyd Overton
1. Seeing the Brownlee brothers take the 1-2 in the triathlon.
2. I'll run around the block or up and down the road to get my Garmin to a
certain number.
I've kept every pair of running shoes I've ever bought, not sure why!!
3. Arnold Schwarzenegger - been an avid fan since ever since I was a nipper.
Jason Mumford
1. The omnium in the track cycling. Completely bonkers!
2. Do tripping over tree routes and making odd wheezing noises count?!
3. Rachel Riley
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Annette Lewis
1. Mo's rollover to stand in the 10,000m with him going on to win. We loosely
based a training session around this.
2. The first track competition of the year must be started with new 6mm
pyramid spikes in my shoes.
3. The Domino’s pizza delivery guy with my own order. Hopefully there's Wi-
Fi in the lift then I am all good!
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Rich Meston
1. Honestly, I didn’t watched a huge amount of the Olympics just because of
timing. But I did catch a few of the highlights of the UK cyclists and I just love
the repeated final pushes to get the golds - amazing achievements!
2. It gets pointed out that I have a very "efficient" running style. I don't bob
up and down much, and I think it can look a bit odd! It all started when I
upped my cadence (from 170ish to around 185-190 now) and tried to
minimise the amount of bounce on each step in order to be more efficient
and reduce the risk of injury for ultras.
3. As we're talking running, I think anyone from the world of ultra-running -
Kilian Jornet or Jason Schlarb (joint winners of Hardrock this year) would be
pretty inspiring to spend 10 minutes chatting with!
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Rex Bale
1. Hollie Webb’s winning penalty in the Hockey Final which gave the England
team the gold medal, and stopped the Netherlands from getting a hat trick of
Olympic titles.
2. Counting up to 100 (many times) during the tough final stages of a race –
not original I know, Paula Radcliffe did it, and it did her no harm.
3. It would have to be a musician, I think and guitarist Julian Bream comes to
mind. He’s great talker and full of anecdotes about his career which included
working with fellow guitarist John Williams, and he knew many British
composers including William Walton, Malcolm Arnold, and Benjamin
Britten. If we weren’t rescued for a good few hours and ran out of musical
topics, we could talk about the North Dorset countryside where he lives, and
which I’ve become quite acquainted with in recent years.
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Steve Davis
1. GB women winning the hockey final. Really tense for so long!
2. I like to occasionally wave to random passing vehicles, and like to think
they are wondering if they should know me as they drive on by!
3. Probably a lift engineer.
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Dorothea Russell
1. Simone Biles' Gymnastics floor routine
2. I think all my runs are quirky from start to finish as I put enjoyment over
achievement - and hope to keep this up til I am 90
3. I don't enjoy being stuck in a lift and therefore always take the stairs
and the person to walk up the stairs with me would be the Dalai Lama whose
wisdom I appreciate. I hope it would be stairs up the Shard as it would take
us a long time - Buddhists do not rush - and at the top I would thank him for
sharing his selfless views of the world
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David Ozanne
1. My favourite moments must be Sophie Hitchon celebrating her bronze in
the hammer. True unbridled joy, and well deserved.
2. I spend most of my time running wondering if my dodgy legs (somewhat
prone to injury) will get me to the end of the run.
3. I was once stuck in a lift in Stepney with my wife, Maria. The fire brigade
had to rescue us. I seem to recall she made the drama perfectly tolerable. I
see no reason why I would ever want to be stuck in a lift with anyone else.
However, if she refused, Alicia Keys might be appealing company. She could
sing to me. A suitable second best.
________________________________________________
Sean Hogan
1. Bolt 100m Gold
2. I avoid running over 3 drains - someone once told me it was unlucky.
3. My girlfriend, any other answer will get me in trouble!
________________________________________________
Barry Mitchell
1. The last 2 laps of both the men’s 10,000 metres and 5,000 metres.
2. On long runs, I think about my post run plate of Weetabix, Peaches and
Alpen.
3. Spike Milligan.
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Couch to 5k Group
Exceeding all our expectations!
Esther Downes
January
I had just joined Poole Runners and here I am enjoying the Monday night
plod in the dark around Baiter. I overheard James Skipworth mention that he
was planning on running a Couch to 5k group in time for the festival of
running. I offered to help knowing helping a few people get running will be
fun and rewarding! There was talk of a course I’d have to do and always
enjoying a learning opportunity this sounded just right! Still being very much
a new runner, I still look at those running around me with awe of what they
are achieving, such as longer and harder courses and I know this could all be
a bit daunting at first!
March
I attended the one day Leadership in Running Course in London which was a
really good knowledge builder. I am not sure when the realisation hit me that
I was actually leading the programme, not just helping from the side lines (!)
but I am never one to turn down a challenge – It’s just a few runners learning
to run!
The facebook interest was growing each week as it was shared by fellow
runners and friends and posted out to groups in the area to build the
publicity. James did an article for the Bournemouth Echo and I even got to
talk on Radio Solent Breakfast Show with Steve Harris, a keen runner himself!
This was all great fun and I was enjoying the excitement that was growing
around the group and getting to be a bit of a 'poster' girl for new runners!
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Thank goodness for the great team of volunteers that was forming! Paul
Viney and Rob Brown had offered to assist from the start of discussions and
were ready and waiting. Kirsty Cooper and Dave Leabourne I had asked on a
Plod night if they would like to help and they were very willing to jump in at
the deep end. We became the core team and were helped by others along
the way including Angie, Helene, Mike and Cat when they could.
April
A crowd gathers around The Kitchen in Poole Park - it keeps getting bigger
and bigger with people coming from all directions and others trying to park. It
Was Week 1 of the Couch to 5k!
It was a little overwhelming but we had to give them what they had come for
– running! It was all a little crazy as we try to direct over 90 people to walk /
run using the NHS programme of Couch to 5k – It starts with a basic 60
seconds jog, followed by 90 seconds walking and repeat 8 times. Each week
the running gets that bit longer and ideally a bit quicker too!
It sounds pretty simple but not wanting to make it too boring, we added in
some fun aspects. Hill sprints where Kirsty was in her element chasing
unwilling victims up the inclines around Poole Park! Each week we gained
and lost a few but maintained numbers of over 60 people and formed into
various groups of ability from those who comfortably could meet all the
requests to those that took it steadier at the back!
Each session always went with a bit of a blur as we directed over 60 people
each week to run faster, slower, longer, harder, in straight lines, in circles,
around cones, up and down hills and so on! It was soon clear that planning
was pretty key. We spent many Mondays chatting on messenger, the phone
didn’t not stop beeping as we discussed what worked and didn’t! It has been
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eported that many a time Paul nearly fell of roofs and ladders to get to his
buzzing phone, in either shock or excitement – we are not sure!
Kirsty is full of great ideas that formed so many of our sessions. Paul, Dave
and Rob always gave great feedback to help form sessions and soon told us if
it wasn’t working - but even better, they were good at following orders! Rob
being the sensible one in the group whilst Paul's shorts were always an eye
full to spot running around the lake! Dave was our consistent member who
was always there, often having done a run and encouraging to his group! As
the season went on, the sun and shorts came out and everyone got a bit
better. Running round the cricket pitch became the lake and then Baiter as
we got a bit further each time. The groups spread out and a large part of our
sessions were running backwards and forwards between different groups of
people to give them a boost!
Each week the Couch Runners were given ‘Homework’ which they had to do
a further 2 sessions run as set out by the programme and what we advised.
This gave us a facebook community where we posted up updates and tried to
motivate the group.
It was from around Week 4, it suddenly got that bit more special as we got to
know all the runners a little more in each group. The runners started to feel a
sense of achievement as they accomplished that bit further and faster than
they thought they could. They hung around a bit longer at the end and asked
questions. You could see the group finding their fellow running friends and
groups formed of similar speeds. The smiling faces at the end of sessions
made it feel amazing, especially as at the beginning of many sessions there
was concern or even horror once they knew what they were doing!
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As the Poole Festival of Running loomed we did our best to get as many as
possible signed up for what was for many their 1 st race! We booked some
parkrun Buddy Runs (another one of Kirsty’s moments – she must have eaten
her cake!) to help give confidence to those still not sure they could do it. We
turned up in Poole Runners Vest along with a bunch of other club runners to
help them complete their first ever 5k! It was great to see and I especially
enjoyed getting to shout 'Sprint!' at them in the last few metres with an often
grimace face returned to me! The only difficulty was remembering who was a
Couch Runner -in the end it was easier to shout at everyone much too many
runners disgust!
To top off the great achievements of the group, we were privileged to have
the Mayor come and visit before the Poole Festival of Running and give out
certificates of achievement. It was a small thing but so many proud faces
knowing they have all run 5k, in whatever speed they could do!
The Poole Festival of Running was a hot day and we gave bands to all those
that had been running with us on the programme so we could cheer them
on. We had nearly 50 people enter through our programme and they all did
fantastic. Every person ran their own race, with a variety of times from 30-45
minutes which reflected the mixed abilities in the group!
All of us leaders are incredibly proud seeing many Couch runners at the Plod
and at parkruns on a weekly basis – knowing we were part of their journey
into being heathier and fitter is a great feeling and without a doubt worth
getting to Poole Park every Monday for! It has been a great way to get to
know so many Poole Runners as well as I become the ‘one that does the
Couch Group’. We also got the name Poole Runners out there and I hope we
continue to show everyone we are very much open and welcoming to all
abilities and levels!
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A testimonial from one of our Couch Group:
Poole Park Couch 2 5k....well, what can I say? It started out as a supplement
to my training for a walking marathon, but it ended up being much, much
more than that. Apart from gaining the feeling of acceptance from the very
beginning, I have gained strength, stamina and more confidence in my
abilities. The week on week guidance was firm but fair and tackled with gusto
by an ever enthusiastic group......enthusiasm which was caught from our very
willing tutors who give up their evenings to help us achieve goals we never
even thought possible of setting ourselves. Their love of running is infectious
and I've loved every single session so much. I can't thank them enough for
introducing me to a new activity. If you think you can't run, or like me, you've
always said 'I'm not built for running', go and give it a try......you might just be
proved wrong!
5k – 5 miles – The progressers of Couch to Plod!
It was an idea of Rob's to work towards getting the couch group up to
Plodders to join the main plod on a Monday night. At first many felt they
could never do it at all but we set out a 6 week programme with increase in
distance from 5k to reach the 5 mile plod! This was a much smaller group but
the enthusiasm the same and the smiles on faces as each week a bit further
they ran! At the end of the 6 weeks we had around 20 or so of the group who
achieved the 5 miles, many with the main plodders and also a sub group
called the 'progressors' who run the plod route but at a slower pace together
but each week getting faster!
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Having only just celebrated my 1 st year Plod anniversary and the first time I
ever joined a group run I am incredibly proud of how far I have come and
even prouder that I have managed to be part of dragging / pushing / shoving
a group of runners to it too!
Couch to 5k...Again!
With many requests we decided that we needed a new programme to go
through summer and finish a similar time to Bournemouth Marathon Festival
so those that want to could enter the 5k race.
We thought we’d run a quieter programme, register everyone and charge
£10 which we can use to fund more leaders on courses.
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It was pouring with rain when I arrived at The Kitchen at 6pm on Monday 1 st
August and once again there was already crowd formed! Facebook shares
had once again got our name out there and we signed up 63 keen people in
wet conditions to start Week 1! We have now over 80 people registered onto
the course for this programme and 2 new volunteers, Maria Ozanne and
Catherine Hill (from our previous Couch programme) to help us along.
So...here to we go again!
Esther Downes
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The following article first appeared in SPRINT in 1997 - Ed
‘Our Albert’
Alwyn Dominey had a vision of a long line of runners out together to train but
also to enjoy each other’s company. Here is how that dream came true and
evolved into Poole Runners.
Alwyn has always lived locally and had been friends with Graham Brown since
primary school. In their spare time they cobbled together bits of bicycles to
make mean machines which they would scoot around the heath on. In the
late sixties and early seventies they were recruited into Poole Tigers Cycle
Speedway Club and travelled all around the country reaching a very high
standard in competitions. Cycle Speedway means riding a bike at high speed
around a small gravel track. Alwyn always started at the front and stayed
there while Graham worked his way through the field gradually.
They had their first encounters with alcohol; at the age of thirteen in the
Pottery Pub in Newtown, Poole. Graham remembers (but Alwyn not so well)
the time he came across Alwyn talking to a leaf which he seemed to be in
love with. They drifted apart for a few years in their early twenties, then met
up again when an interest in Marathon running began.
1981 was the first marathon for both London and Alwyn. His debut was
steady achieving a time of 3 hours 50 minutes but considering he had trained
in Dunlop’s Green Flash trainers and his background was in Cycle Speedway,
this was good. It was also important as Alwyn decided with his friend Graham
to start a club for runners to train for the next year’s London Marathon. On
one of their training runs they met Steve Crockford a colleague of Grahams
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who envied their fitness and ambitions. Steve was very keen to be involved
and so the idea for ‘Poole Runners’ took shape.
An advert was placed in the local Evening Echo inviting potential runners to a
meeting at Alwyn’s house. Quite a number of people arrived and as the year
progressed the membership grew. This presented a problem of how to get
everyone into the Marathon when entries (at that time) were on a first come,
first served basis. However, Alwyn, knew a postman at the sorting office and
armed with a bottle of whisky was able to persuade the Postie to put their
entries through the franking machine first.
Incredibly, everyone was accepted so training began in earnest to get in
under three hours. Alwyn achieved 3:05 and was regards as a hero. They
continued through the following year and Alwyn achieved his first running
goal, a marathon in under three hours. The years passed with the club
flourishing and Alwyn, with the others was running 90 to 100 miles a week,
month after month.
Having graduated from Green Flash to New Balance, Alwyn bow had a pair of
Nike Mariah trainers. This was 1989 and the year that he was going for sub
2:40. However, the shoes let him down as they punctured in the heel and by
ten mile his calf muscles were sore. He just missed his target by finishing in
2:43:16. Steve Crockford went with him to the Nike desk to complain. If it
hadn’t been for the shoes…
Alwyn’s personal bests include 2:40:47 in the London Marathon 1988. In
1989 the Bath Half Marathon went in 1:16:18 and the Fareham 10 in 57.48.
It wasn’t all hard training as these guys really knew how to ‘Party’ and Ron
Joscelyn’s 50 th was planned with precision. A Kissogram could have been
organised but it was felt that Ron deserved something more. They decided to
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dress Alwyn up as a Kissogram in drag (dress by Geoff Scott, make-up applied
by Alwyn’s wife Linda and Steve’s wife Liz) at the height of the performance
Alwyn sat on Ron’s knee and revealed a ‘Willy warmer’ in the shape of a pink
elephant whilst reciting a poem. No-one can remember what it was.
Fortunately!
In retaliation, Alwyn’s 40 th birthday bash lasted all weekend. One hundred
and twenty people arrived for a surprise party at Steve and Liz’s house where
Alwyn thought he was going to enjoy a quiet supper. The party finished at
5am but after a good 3 hours sleep they whisked him off to take part in the
Canterbury ‘10’ for which he had been entered by persons unknown. Despite
having been thrashed in the race by local club Invicta. Poole Runners took
revenge by drinking them silly, leaving them under the table later that
evening. The following morning Poole Runners were moving into their stride
and after tiring Invicta out on a fifteen mile Sunday run they proceeded to
beat them at football though it took them three hours to do it. Invicta
members included Mike Gratton and Nick Braun, winner and runner-up in
the London Marathon. Alywn must have been pleased to get home.
During the years more social and athletic triumphs took place. Most notably
was the Pennine Way run by Poole Runners which raised £5000 for a local
disabled child. Alwyn was nicknamed ‘Lazarus’ during the event, as he hurt
his leg and finished with the aid of a stick.
Poole Runners were also invited by Bournemouth Council to turn on the
Christmas lights. These had been bought from London and they were to run
from Oxford Street to Bournemouth with an Olympic Torch. Alwyn had
everyone organised but at the moment the run was due to start he couldn’t
find his first runner. This is reputed to be Pete Helyer. However I couldn’t find
him to check this out. He had gone in search of a loo and in desperation had
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asked at the door of a nightclub. Alwyn was running around madly trying to
find him when he spotted Pete in his running gear emerging with a group of
smartly dressed clubbers. Finally the event got under way and they arrived at
Bournemouth rather early. The council put them up in a nice hotel and fed
them chicken sandwiches until night fell and they could switch the lights on.
Alwyn and Linda, his wife, organise the Annual Christmas Dinner and Dance.
They work hard to get us all there dressed in our best. Alwyn cares deeply
about the club and says “The people are the most important factor” Alwyn
has two daughters, Katie and Joan. Alwyn has his own business as a builder
and sometimes signs his autograph on cement surrounding a chimney after
repairing it – Alywyn and Pete.
Poole Runners. His dream come true. We hope it continues.
Helen Ambrosen
This article first appeared in SPRINT in 1997 - Ed
Alwyn confirmed the inaugural meeting to set up Poole Runners took
place at his home on 23 rd July 1981 - Ed
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www.poolerunners.com
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Open group: facebook.com/PooleRunners
___________________________________________
Members only group:
facebook.com/groups/279100532132960/
___________________________________________
Couch 2 5k Group:
facebook.com/pooleparkcouch25k
___________________________________________
Monday Plod Group:
facebook.com/Park-to-Poole-Runners
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Twitter:
@poolerunners