Keswick Athletic Club

Anyone for Ben Nevis Race 2012?

2012-01-29T19:55:00.002Z

Did the Ben Nevis race back in September and loved it! I'm getting my entry in asap for 2012...

Does anyone else fancy a crack at the ben?

If there are a few interested then perhaps we could make a weekend out of it :)

Northern Athletics Cross Country Championships

2012-01-29T19:24:00.002Z

Really well done to Steve Hebblethwaite who put in a fantastic run at the Northern Athletics Cross Country Championships at Pontefract Park in Wakefield.

Steve finished 58th out of 685 senior men in an extraordinarily competitive field, featuring some of the country's finest runners.

Full results: http://www.noeaa-athletics.org.uk/Pages/Article.aspx?id=262

Senior Men:

1 - 39:52 Steven VERNON Stockport Harriers & AC
2 - 39:57 James WILKINSON Leeds City Athletic Club
3 - 39:59 Patrick MARTIN Stockport Harriers & AC

Senior Women

1 - 30:40 Lizzie ADAMS Hallamshire Harriers Sheffield
2 - 30:54 Susan PARTRIDGE Leeds City Athletic Club
3 - 31:00 Jess COULSON Stockport Harriers & AC

Blakes Heaven - 28th January 2012

2012-01-29T19:19:00.002Z

Results at: http://www.c-f-r.org.uk/results/2012

Plenty of excellent performances from Keswick AC members. Well done all.

Some race photos courtesy of Stuart Stoddart can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stustod/sets/

Annual Dinner - Saturday Evening

2012-01-23T19:41:00.002Z

I'm driving from St Bees on saturday for the Annual Dinner. If anyone wants a lift from the west-coast or Cockermouth area, let me know:

iandavversdavies@googlemail.com

Sped's Three Peaks Sun. 22nd Jan 2012

2012-01-22T18:01:00.003Z

No hospital cases this year so that made a pleasant change. A good attendance with 14 girls and 24 boys.
Anticlockwise route yet again. Clockwise must be a banker for next year!
A bit of an informal list of names and sometimes accurate times might give you an idea of how much form your rivals currently have.
Lee Newton 2.08
Carl Bell 1.47.35 fastest time and didn't cut any corners [so I'm told]
Jenn Mattinson 2.36
Dave Burton 2.20.29
Lesley Malarkey 2.47
John Beetham 2.04
Toby Cushion 1.59
Robert Lenning 2.22
Mike Robinson 1.50.45
Louise Roberts 2.19
Hazel Robinson ? 2 dogs in tow
Gavin Bland 2.06
Jo Gillyon 2.26
Cat Evans 2.26
Chris Evans 2.26
Catherine Spurden 2.36
Pat Richards 2.47 2 tops
Pete Richards 2.47 2tops
Siobhan Brewer 2.40
Rachel Mellor 2.40
Sarah Bailey 2.40
John Horne 2.45
Adam Campion 2.44
Simon Jackson 2.42
Stephen Norman 2.45
Anne Downie 2.59
Jim Downie 2.59
Dave Birch 1.58.40
Pippa Maddams 1.58.40
Paul Cornforth 1.50.45
Dan Barton 2.04.23
Libbie Graham 2.36
Peter Egan 2.45
Tony Morley 2.52
Rob Jones 2.21
John Nicoll 1.57.06
Simon Booth 1.47.49 close 2nd
Dave Spedding 1.39 could only manage Walla & Latrigg

With a 7 strong creche and a few partners we were delighted to host the best part of 50 in our flat.
The route length has always been a bit of a talking point. On the 2003 result sheet I have a note saying Debbie officially measured route at 11.5 miles. Depressing? Then the 04 sheet has notes to the effect of flat length 12.17 miles hidden length 14.00 miles and climb 3947 ft.
What say you GPS folk??
Sped

Latrigg Fell Race - Wednesday 16th May 2012

2012-01-22T17:50:00.002Z

Latrigg will again be part of the Keswick Mountain Festival and they have asked if I will take entries in advance and I have set this up on the club's online shop. Entries will of course be available on the evening.

TV Commercial being shot in Filmby – runners required

2012-01-16T16:41:00.001Z

Please contact Steve Hebblethwaite if you are interested in the following:

Hi there

I am contacting you from Grain Media, we are a production company that produces a diverse array of award winning productions for TV and film, from high-profile documentaries through to youth led programming for UK and international broadcasters.

On the 26th and 27th Jan we are planning to shoot a TV commercial for New Balance trainers and are looking for runners / athletes to be part of the shoot. We are looking to get the very best athletes (around 20 people) and on the first day and on the second day (27th) we are planning to have around 100 runners / athletes to be part of the shoot.

If this is something you may be able to help us with then that would be amazing, even if you could gather 10 - 20 of your members we would be eternally grateful. We plan to make this advert very cinematic, capturing some breath taking shots of the countryside. We will of course provide plenty of food, refreshments, a fee and a free pair of trainers for everyone involved.

We're still finalising times and locations but on the 26th we are planning to be at the Buttermere / Derwentwater area and on the 27th we will be based at the New Balance factory in Flimby. We will also have a mini coach ferrying our runners from one location to another.

Be good if you could speak to you club members and see who would be available.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Look forward to hearing back from you

Colleen

07515738844

Crosby Commoner Fell Race Sat 21st January

2012-01-13T14:52:00.002Z

Nina Walkingshaw of CFR is organising a new race at Crosby Ravensworth near Penrith on Sat 21st January. This promises to be a great race on the limstone escarpment with plent of tea and cake afterwards.

for details see;

http://www.fellrunner.org.uk/races.php?id=1915

Noon Stone Fell Race - CANCELLED

2012-01-11T12:12:00.003Z

To club representatives

I am contacting you to let you know that the NOON STONE FELL RACE 2012 (25/02/2012) has been cancelled due to environmental reasons.

I hope it will be possible for you to let your members know of our decision as the event is in the FRA calendar as race details were submitted prior to cancellation.

I would appreciate it if you would pass on our apologies to any of your club members who were planning to run this year and thank them for their support over the years.

Regards,

Colin Duffield

Todmorden Harriers

Trail running photo-shoot in Keswick

2012-01-09T21:16:00.002Z

I have been approached by Claire Maxted, the Editor of Trail Running magazine. She is urgently seeking photogenic (!) volunteers:

“Trail Running mag is doing a shoot with ace photographer Stuart Holmes on Latrigg (above Keswick) next week: Mon 16, Tues 17 or Wed 18 Jan, depending which has the best forecast. We will know a couple of days in advance. We’re looking for inspiringly fit-looking runners to come along for an hour or two (or longer if you want to be in more pics!) to be in some shots for Spring12 issue, out 23 Feb. Would you like to come? Or can you forward this to anyone who might be interested and free to pop along? What’s in it for you? I will bring a big bag of trail running gear for you to rummage through and take an item! And you will hopefully see yourself in Spring12, or Summer12 issues of TR mag! Are you interested? Let me know when you’d be available, plus your clothing/shoe sizes, mobile number and email so I can keep you updated.”

If you are interested, please contact Claire directly by email: csmaxted @ gmail.com (there's a space round the @ to stop internet spamming). Or phone: 07817 465939.

Keswick AC Club Championships 2012 -races announced!

2012-01-08T07:28:00.003Z

A great set of fixtures this year. Some fantastic races which will make for some close competition for the 2012 championships. All local races -get the dates in your diaries now.

ROAD

24th March : Lorton School 10k
30th June : Eaglesfield 5k
17th November (date TBC) : Brampton/Carlisle 10M

FELL

29th April : Buttermere Sailbeck (M)
4th August : Borrowdale (L)
16th September : Dale Head (S)

Cumbria League XC race #5 photos

2012-01-08T07:15:00.006Z

There is now a large set of photographs from the final Cumbria League fixture which took place yesterday at Fitz Park online here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stustod/sets/72157628764318839/

Many thanks to Stuart Stoddart for sharing these pictures.

Lochaber Marathon

2012-01-07T19:59:00.002Z

There is a Keswick women's team in the Lochaber Marathon on Sunday 15th April 2012. The team consists of Julie Carter, Hazel Davies, Siobhan Brewer and me (Sam Ayers). If anyone else would like to join us, it would be great to have you along.

http://www.lochaberac.co.uk/lac2012marathon/

As part of the build up, Hazel and I will be doing the following races:

Sun 22nd Jan: Inskip Derby Arms 1/2 M (near Preston)
Sun 29th Jan: Chernobyl 10K (near Preston)
Sun 12th Feb: Keswick Buttermere Round
SunMarch 4th: Trimpell 20

Some of these races will be done at marathon pace rather than the correct race pace for that distance. Others will be used as a 'quality sandwich', e.g. for the 10K, we're likely to do something like a 5 mile warm up before the race, followed by a similarly long cool down. This makes a long run of around 16 miles far less daunting and a lot more interesting.

If anyone would like to join us and share transport, you'd be welcome. E-mail me: sam.ayers@tiscali.co.uk

Next year... Pippa suggested getting a women's team on the championship start for the London Marathon. For this we need more women to get involved. To qualify, you need to have done one of the following in the two years preceeding the race (April 2013):

Completed a marathon in sub 3.15hrs or
Completed a half marathon in sub 1.30hrs

So if any of you who are there or there abouts... how about giving it a go?

If you're not up to that speed yet, don't worry, you could still aim to qualify for the 'Good for Age' places. Look at the following page for further details.

http://www.virginlondonmarathon.com/marathon-centre/enter-virgin-london-marathon/good-for-age-entries/

Cheers!

Sam

Christmas Racing Action

2012-01-04T15:53:00.002Z

Below is a press release of some of the racing that has happened over Christmas and New Year. If you've done any races that I've missed, get the results on the blog.

There was plenty of racing action over the festive period for Keswick Athletic Club members. This would help to alleviate the impact of the various temptations that tend to arise over Christmas and the subsequent widening of waist sizes.

The Wansfell fell race in Ambleside is the perfect antidote to gluttonous Christmas behaviour. The race takes place two days after Christmas so provides the perfect opportunity to work off too much turkey.

The race can sometimes be affected by cold weather and icy conditions but this year was mild and the toughest part of the race was the wet underfoot terrain on the side of the fell. The race is a short and sharp affair starting from Ambleside. It is just over two miles in distance but squeezes in 1,300’ of climbing. The lung-bursting ascent to the summit of Wansfell is followed by an electrifying descent back down the hill-side and into the town.

Bingley’s Rob Jebb made his return to racing after suffering a dislocated shoulder earlier in the season and took the win in a time of 19:59. This was some way off the record of 18:56 set by Keswick’s Kenny Stuart in 1984 but times were generally down due to the damp conditions. The first female was Sarah McCormack of Moorfoot who finished in 23:57. The runners up were Kim Collison (Eden Runners) and Lindsey Brindle (Horwich) respectively.

The first Keswick AC runner was Chris Edis who placed well in a competitive field to finish 10th in 22:32. Following close behind Chris was John Nicoll in 12th (22:49).

For those looking to get the New Year off with a racing start, there is the Nine Standards fell race in Kirkby Stephen on New Year’s Day. Starting from the Market Square in the small town, the route is a simple out and back course to the mysterious Nine Standards stones that sit above Kirkby Stephen. The course includes a fair bit of tarmac for a fell race but still manages to squeeze 1800’ of climbing into the 8 mile course. The event was clear of snow this year but there were some wild winds and blustery showers for the competitors to deal with.

There was some excitement in the ladies race as the record was broken in dramatic fashion. Keswick’s Pippa Maddams and Todmorden Harrier’s Lauren Jeska crossed the line together in joint 10th place overall and clocking a record time of 1:00:55.

The men’s race was won comfortably by Howgill Harrier Carl Bell, finishing over two minutes ahead in a time of 52:57. Kim Collison, as at Wansfell, finished second getting back to the Market Square in 55:25. Keswick AC’s Russell Maddams was third in 57:52.

Russell was joined by Steve Angus, running his first race in a Keswick vest, and Richard Unwin to secure a men’s team prize. Steve finished 7th in 1:00:16 and second veteran over 40 and Richard finished 41st in 1:09:37. Further Keswick representation came from Angela Armstrong who finished 55th overall in a time of 1:12:33.

Along with the action on the fells, a number of Keswick members took to the roads to get some racing in over the Christmas period. Two Keswick runners happened to be in the south of England over Christmas and both took part in the 8th annual Pilot Inn 4 Mile Christmas Road Race in Hardwicke, Gloucestershire. Keswick’s Steve Hebblethwaite was in amongst the front runners and secured a worthy 3rd place, finishing behind Andy Kaighin of Cheltenham Harriers (20:50) and Kyran Hale of Severn AV (21:09). Steve’s time was 21:26 and he was joined by club colleague Dave Burton who ran 25:46 and finished 23rd. Dave has been training with Keswick AC for many years and this was his first race as a first-claim member.

There was only one Keswick runner at the hugely popular Ribble Valley 10K in Clitheroe, Lancashire. But Samantha Ayres ran a strong race to finish 6th female over 40 and 31st female overall. There were 898 runners in total and there was some fantastic racing at the front of the field as the course record fell. Jonny Mellor of Liverpool Harriers & AC pipped the international triathlete Alistair Brownlee (Bingley Harriers & AC) to the line by a mere five seconds. Mellor ran the record breaking time of 29:10 and Brownlee was just adrift stopping the clock at 29:15. In the female race the victory was a little more comfortable for Katrina Wootton of Bedford and County AC. She ran a time of 33:57, some way ahead of second placed Tessa Walker (Salford Harriers & AC) who ran 35:51.

Keswick AC pictorial review of 2011

2012-01-04T12:04:00.018Z

A number of the following photos have appeared on www.keswickac.blogspot.com over the previous 12 months, while a number are new additions for this review. Kind thanks to Steve Angus at athletesinaction.co.uk, Gwynfor James at sportpicturescymru.co.uk, Dave Woodhead at woodentops.org.uk, Paul Dobson at fellrunner.net, Alastair Tye at fellrunningpictures.co.uk, Stuart Stoddart, and Phil Winskill.

January...

February...

March...

April...

May...

June...

July...

August...

September...

October...

November...

December...

British Fell Running Championship 2012 preview

2012-01-04T11:58:00.002Z

The 2012 British Fell Running Championship which kicks off with the Coledale Horseshoe on Saturday 14t April, and culminates with the 4.7m/1772' Moel Wnion in North Wales on 8th September, is previewed on the mudsweatandtears.co.uk website HERE.