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Stone Master Marathoners 2015 Awards

Friday night (5th February) saw the SMM Annual Awards evening held in the luxurious Upper House in Barlaston. It was a fantastic setting to celebrate the achievements of all of Bats over the past year.

The big winners of the night were Paul Phillips and Anne-Marie Mountford winning both the Mens and Ladies Championship respectively and also winning the North Staffs Road Runners Awards for the club. In the veterans category Alison Brind and Richard Shaw collected awards with both also winning the Cross Country awards and Richard also won the prestigious Runner of the Year award as voted by his fellow runners.

Steve Parker run the outstanding achievement award after completing numerous marathons the most recent being 3:18 (2nd M60 in Spain). Club Person of the Year went to Captain, Bernie Priekulis and Beginner of the Year went to Tim Clegg. A full list of the winners are below

Category   Winner
Men’s Champion   Paul Phillips
       2nd   Tim Hulse
       3rd   Richard Shaw
Ladies Champion   Anne-Marie Mountford
       2nd   Gail Evans
       3rd   Joyce Edwards
Veteran Lady   Alison Brind
Veteran Man   Richard Shaw
Marathon Lady   Jackie Allen
Marathon Man   Steve Fenney
NSRRA Lady   Anne-Marie Mountford
NSRRA Man   Paul Phillips
Most Improved Lady   Julie McArthur
Most Improved Male   Jim Holland
X Country Lady   Alison Brind
X Country Man   Richard Shaw
Chairmans Trophy   Julie Ebrey
Captains Trophy   Anne Griffiths
Outstanding  Achievement   Steve Parker
Club Person of the Year   Bernie Priekulis
Runner of the Year   Richard Shaw
Beginner of the Year   Tim Clegg
Newcomer of the Year   Phil Cape
Outstanding Contribution to Running   Bryan Dale

 

 

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Alsager 5 – 7th February 2016

Here we go again!

After a hugely successful Cross Country season and a highly entertaining Presentation Evening on Friday, Sunday morning arrived with the anticipation of the season opener – the Alsager 5. This is one of the fastest 5 mile races in the country and it attracts 1200 runners from far and wide so it was pleasing to hear quite a few Bats were entering for the first time.


Tim Hulse, Phil Cape, Jim Holland, Bernie Priekulis and Roger Taylor (wearing the wrong colour) decided they would leave the club at 7am to run the 20/21 miles before racing…..they say runners are mad well these 5 just proved it!
The rest of us slightly more sane runners decided just the 5 miles would do and set off to Alsager in the bright sunshine, (a slight change from the recent downpours). Myself and Mick Downes passed Bernie just before we parked up and to say he looked a bit peaky would be unfair (he looked knackered), but he managed to get a number which he is ever thankful to Amy for.
With it being such a busy race, trying to find everyone before the start for a mass photo proved to be impossible so we made our way to the start in dribs and drabs, catching up with mates from other clubs, getting our injury excuses in early and complaining that perhaps we should be in the NSRRA group below this year.

11am – the hooter went and we were met by a cacophony of beeps as we all went over the start mat with our ankle tags on – I am sure a ‘Colony of Bats’ responded in the distance. (no pun intended
Off we went caught up in the throng (I said throng !) setting off far too quickly to avoid the congestion on the first corner and after half a mile I was breathing through my…I was breathing hard, by the time the first mile had passed I had slowed and a few ‘D’ runners started passing me, then a few more – so much for 45+ points be lucky to get 30 !!

For the next 3 miles or so the sun shone down, there was a brisk breeze but not too bad and I pushed along trying to keep some of the ‘D’s in view as well as Kirsty…several other Bats had already flown away not to be seen till the finish line.

I don’t tend to fade too much in the last part of a race and keep a pretty constant pace so I did pull in quite a few ‘D’s , however Kirsty did brilliantly and there was no way I was going to close that gap. With about 400 yards to go I passed a couple more of my group competitors and had one more in my sights but one cheeky so and so decided to pass us both, so I tucked in behind him trying to keep out of his eye line whilst passing the other.
The last 100 metres is a sprint finish in the leisure centre and with about 50 metres to go I pulled out, pushed past him and used another runner to block the path…..I’m not competitive honest but those 2 ‘D’s in the last 100 metres might count… so get in!!

I must admit when I finished I felt a bit weak at the knees so although disappointed with my efforts I must have tried quite hard.
Mick 32:40, Pippa 32:59, Tim, Phil, Amy and Kirsty had already finished with blistering times, soon to be followed in by Angela, Runner of the Year – Richard beat Jim for the first time ever as he proudly pointed out (I am sure Jim will use the 21 mile warm up as an excuse). Then a whole host of Bats were crossing the finish line which was quite amusing as we were trying to get Roger to take photos and someone else kept turning up.
Sam, Pam, Anne-Marie, Emma and Mac crossed the line shortly before Captain Bernie who to be fair at 11:00 looked not overly enthusiastic about running so fair play. David G, Margaret, Beginner of the Year – Tim, Michelle, Anne, Marian and Jenny made up the rest of the ‘Fantastic 23’.

What can I say – first race of the year – 23 Bats – how proud we must feel as a club and to top it off most of us managed to squeeze in a pint at the George and Dragon with Angela bringing the catering….


Not sure how to finish off this article as most of it has already been said on facebook so perhaps all I can say is

GO BATS !!!!

 

Paul

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Four Villages Half Marathon – 17th January 2016

Race Report: Jackie Allen

23818348603_01ec5ae209_oFour of us (Tim Hulse, Fabien Carbonell, Amy Gamble and myself) met at the club for the drive to Helsby, wondering if the race would be on or not due to the weather. Last year the start was delayed and then cancelled, and as there had been snow in Stone and Stafford we were unsure what lay ahead.

This was the third time I’d entered the Four Villages Half and has always been my favorite half marathon course. Things have improved since the last time I did it – plenty of drinks if you needed them and an improved bag storage system.

The route itself is described as undulating, but compared to some of the places we train I would say it was quite flat with a couple of nice downhill sections. It’s a rural setting and quite scenic.

There was quite a bit of support along the way which was good and unexpected seeing as the roads were all closed to traffic.

I found the first five miles the hardest as I couldn’t seem to find my pace, but once I’d got past that point I started to enjoy it.

23817197024_347793b34b_oAt about 10 miles I dared to think I might be on for a personal best. I felt reasonably good compared to how I felt at the start. I even managed a sprint finish which is unheard of for me!

All four of us were pleased with our times and enjoyed the event. I managed to knock over 2 minutes off my previous best which was a real bonus and good start to the year.

We were given a medal, drink and goody bag at the end. So it was all smiles for the journey home.

Tim – 1:28:23
Amy – 1:35:51 (PB PB)
Fabien – 1:39:08
Jackie – 1:44:11 (PB)

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Christmas Cracker – 20th December 2015

Race Report – Pam Eardley

ChristmasCracker_2015_StartSo the day looked good weather wise, I really don’t fancy this run in bad weather although I’m told they change the run if it’s bad weather, it’s still bleak up there.

I met up with Alison Brind and she drove to Tittesworth Reservoir where we met Phillipa  Steele and Amy Gamble. Amy was costume designer and a great job she did too . Once we’d entered the race and dressed ourselves up suitably the race started at 11.

There really was some brilliant fancy dress costumes Santas, elves, snowmen along with themes not so Christmassy .

We started off through some fields and farm tracks, lots of mud and my trainers are still recovering in the airing cupboard. Then we hit the lanes and started to climb slowly until we came to the off road point and onto the Roaches.

The path was very muddy uneven and you really did have to concentrate on where you were putting your feet, there were some points where you had to walk it was so steep and un even. I did manage to keep other runners in my sight as I did have visions of being the last one out but no there were people behind us and the other girls waited at points so it’s was a lovely no pressure fun (I think) run.

There was a man running with a record player who overtook me on the climb I did mutter something to Alison about being overtaken by someone heavily burdened by his fancy dress !!!! he was playing some grunge music so was  quite glad he went past me .

On reaching the trig point  we had a photo opportunity and  it was all we could muster to stop ourselves taking off in our bat capes. Such spectacular views just amazing that we live so close to this natural beauty.

Then the decent, well all I can say was it was euphoric , just a beautiful 4 miles down hill, I did say to the girls we’d all done well not to do a Madonna in our capes.

ChristmasCracker_2015_TrigWe crossed the line together and I felt amazing looking back towards where I’d come from.  I would recommend this run everything was fun the marshals, the other runners everyone was in good spirits.

The choice of socks or beer was your reward, beer for the hubby I thought as he did hold my coat bless him.

Hot drinks were served to the runners then a snowman with a flashing red nose came and asked where our tent and generator were !!!!!  ? We are famous the SMM bat cave !!!!!!

Dick Dastardly was the individual fancy dress winner not sure who got the group win.

 A brilliant day out thoroughly enjoyed it and a big thanks to the other girls we had a great team spirit .

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Edwinstowe 10k Trail Race – 6th December 2015

Edwinstowe is in the county of Nottinghamshire and was the home of the legendary Robin Hood. It is an ideal location to explore Sherwood Forest with the famous Major Oak.
RS2

This year was the 8th running of the race through Sherwood Forest Country Park and the race was sold out by September with 600 runners having entered. The race HQ was at the Robin Hood Craft Centre in Edwinstowe on the edge of the forest and around the corner from St Mary’s Church where according to legend Robin Hood and Maid Marion were married.
The race crisscrosses the forest which took in the Robin Hood Way. It was run over an accurately measured traffic free undulating footpaths and bridleways starting and finishing on a grassed area adjacent to Edwinstowe Cricket Pitch.
The weather was warm 13C and still quite breezy following the aftermath of storm “Desmond” the previous day and the sun shone throughout the race.

As already mentioned, at the start, we ran approx 800 yards on a field then started to climb into the forest for about 1 mile. The track was not very wide, so with hindsight a fast start on the field would have been beneficial as it took some time to overtake the slower runners. The route crisscrossed numerous paths, some wide, some narrow with the occasional muddy areas, but overall the tracks were well maintained and off road shoes were the order of the day. The race was chip timed and good to get an accurate time especially on a trail race, as from experience very few trail races have chip timing. Also, met former club runner Gemma Butterfield who had entered and I managed to keep her behind me throughout the race.
Overall, I was pleased with my chip time of 52:14 (4 mins slower than my last 10k road race) and finished 172/501. Unfortunately, there was no M65 age group prizes so was put in M60-70 group and finished 5/23.
Margie finished in 66:50 but did not race as she just wanted to run a trail race.
The winners time was 37:07 but was 25 years younger than me!!!
All finishers received a technical tee shirt, lucozade sport and water. Chocolate biscuits were also available on the finish line but no jammy dodgers!! Good value for money as entry fee £12.00.
Mick Hall was also at the race as the official photographer.
RS1
This was my final race in a different county each month this year and have travelled over 2300 miles to the following counties :
Jan. – Llandudno 10k, Gwynedd Wales
Feb. – Alsager 5m, Cheshire
March. – Stafford Half, Staffordshire
April. – Bungay Half, Suffolk
May. – Market Drayton 10k, Shropshire
June – Kingham 12k, Oxfordshire
July – Bewl Water 15m, East Sussex
Aug. – Kimbolton Half, Cambridgeshire
Sept. – New Forest Half, Hampshire
Oct – Tissington Trail Half, Derbyshire
Nov – Chorley 10k, Lancashire
Dec – Edwinstowe 10k, Nottinghamshire
I have thoroughly enjoyed all these races and would recommend them all.
Richard Shaw.

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2016 NSRRA Races

 

For more details visit the NSRRA website www.nsrra.org.uk

RACE 1

Sun 7th February 11:00 – Alsager 5

RACE 2

Sun 13th March 10:30 – Knighton  20

RACE 3

Sun 27th March 10:15 – South Cheshire 10k

RACE 4

Sun 3rd Apr 10:00** – Newcastle 10k

RACE 5

Sun 1st May 10:30  – Uttoxeter Half Marathon

RACE 6

Wed 18th May 19:00 – Clayton 10k

RESERVE 1

Sun 29th May 10:00 – Buxton Half Marathon

RACE 7

Sun 5th June 9:30 – Westbridge 5

RACE 8

Sun 12th June 10:30 – Potters ‘Arf’ Marathon

RESERVE 2

Sun 19th June 10:00 – Stone St Michaels 10k

RACE 9

Tue 28th June 19:30 – Berryhill 10k

RACE 10

Sun 3rd July 9:00 – Potteries Marathon

RACE 11

Sun 10th July 10:30** – Cheadle 4

RACE 12

Sun 17th July 10:30 – Trentham 10k

RACE 13

Wed 27th July 19:15 – Staffs Knot 5

RACE 14

Sat  30th July 10:00 – Meerbrook 15k

RESERVE 3

Thu 18th August 19:15 – Dave Clarke 5(K)

RACE 15

Sun 4th Sep  9:30** – South Cheshire 20

RACE 16

Sat  10th September 15:30 – Ipstones 5

RACE 17

Sun 18th September 10:30 – St. Thomas 7

RACE 18

Sun 2nd October 9:30 – Congleton Half Marathon

RACE 19

Sun 16th Oct 10:30** – Werrington 10k

RACE 20

Sun 6th November 10:30 – Flying Fox 10

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Dusk ’till Dawn Marathon – 31st October 2015

Race report: Phil Cape

Some of the last minute runs this year have been the most fun. The Dusk-til-Dawn was a kind invite to Tim and I a couple of weeks ago from Roger Taylor, who was already booked in with friends Linda and Tracey.

DtD_BriefingThere were three distances to choose from: a half, marathon (our event) and 50-miler in loops around Buxton. The biggest concern pre-race was sourcing fancy dress kit. Tim turned in a great Dracula outfit with inflatable bat and lightshow, Roger did a grim reaper and I went with a bit of a ghoul mask.

The race briefing from a Thriller Michael Jackson at Buxton Community School was relaxed and the other runners very friendly. A festive grim reaper, complete with scythe was introduced, the deal being if they caught you, your race was over.

A sunset start was followed by a good climb out of town to Shining Tor and the moors beyond. Stars in a clear sky and peace in the middle of nowhere are part of what makes night-running so enjoyable. The other bit being the people you meet on the way…. like the guy from Portsmouth who had driven up during Saturday, was doing the 50 before a sleep in the car and return home drive.

DtD_GroupThere were checkpoints every few miles, some of which gave food and drink (normally after a right good hill) and with the kit-checks before the event, I would recommend it as a good introduction to how ultras work. This was the first event where my GPS watch really delivered and it pretty much took us round the course like we were on rails. Those who know how bad I am at navigating will understand how big a deal it was to find this crutch; and Tim and I had a point to prove, having added 5m to a marathon in Baslow earlier in the year. The course was quite technical at times with at least one guy twisting his knee in a rabbit hole on a downhill.

We carried punch cards that needed marking every now and again – great spot by Tim at the first of these that I missed completely. The majority of the hills were in the first half of the run with some great trail-running before the return to town at the end. Over time, the half-marathoners turned off, then we did, leaving the 50-ers to complete their run within the 14hrs. There was a toughie hill that felt like it was half way around, the rest was fine.

DtD_MedalThe final run-in to town was a giggle with revellers perplexed by runners blathered in mud and stinking of manure.

Back to the finish for nice cup of tea followed by a great morning watching the bats do well running and supporting at the Flying Fox. Ideal weekend.

Nice touch from the organisers was a message a couple of days later saying that they’d donated leftover food to a charity – proper feel-good event.

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Race Report Cheddleton 10k – 28th November 2015

I and other Stone Master Marathoners headed up to Cheddleton on Saturday lunchtime for the annual 10k pudding run. Some including myself were lucky enough to be chauffeur driven courtesy of Nick who was behind the wheel. The temperature plummeted as we headed north to the Staffordshire Moorlands with wind and rain adding to the chill factor- this was going to be a race to remember !!

On arrival Nick ,Julie ,Anne-Marie and I met up with fellow members & partners; Linda, Paula, Tom, Hazel, Kevin, Kevin’s wife, Joyce, John and not forgetting Smm’s Cheddleton resident Roger. With such a great team of runners and supporters what could possibly go wrong!

Following the fun run completed by Hazel we assembled in a orderly fashion for a last minute team photo shoot organised by Tom with Mick Hall a great opportunity to again capture the new kit.

At 2pm sharp we set off and were soon greeted by the sound of the lone piper after our first climb out of the village which in the wind and rain became quite motivating. It was just after this point I was overtaken by Nick so it was clearly working for some.

Lap two soon came round and I was joined by Tom who caught me up on bag pipe hill. I understand this was Toms first race following long term injury and he was going well !

Throughout the race I kept Nick in my sight but clearly his new Hoka running shoes were doing their job and I was unable to gain ground.

It wasn’t long before the final lap came round and we found ourselves racing down to the finish in the old village centre to collect our Christmas Puddings 🙂

The early finisher’s went to cheer their colleagues on with great commentary provided by the race organisers adding to the occasion. Julie had a mention for one of the last runners in under the hour with Joyce seconds behind.

The school hall afterwards provided a warm sanctuary from the inclement weather with tea and cakes most welcome. Knowing that monies raised from the event was going towards Cancer Research added to the most enjoyable day and the second brilliant Smm event in less than 24 hours !! Highly recommended 🙂

Scores on the doors

Kevin Uzzell 47 minutes
Nick Boulton 51 minutes 28 secs
Chris Ellerton 52minutes 28 secs
Tom Johnson 53 minutes 7 secs
Anne-Marie Mountford 53 minutes 33 secs
Julie Boulton 59 minutes 47 secs
Joyce Edwards 59 minutes 53 secs
Linda Cartwright 1 hour 1minute 3 secs
Paula Furnival 1 hour 1 minute 33 secs

Cheers

Chris Ellerton

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Chorley Firefighters 10K – 22nd November 2015

I chose to run this race in Lancashire when planning my programme to race in a different county each month this year. IMG_0294

Last year the race was resurrected after an absence of 20 years and there were 141 finishers including four ladies I run with locally who had told me how much they had enjoyed the event. This year the race was very well supported with 409 finishers (a threefold increase in 12 months) and the number of female entrants exceeded the total finishers last year. I assume the attraction was the athletic built male runners or could it be all those Firefighters? The race started at 10.00am from the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Training Centre on the outskirts of Chorley.

An ideal race HQ as there was ample car parking spaces and canteen facilities for all runners and supporters. The course was described as a two lap undulating country route around the villages of Euxton and Astley. The start and finish was in the grounds of the Training Centre. The first mile took us down the long drive to the main Southport Road turning us left up a gradual climb towards Chorley. The route then turned left after approx three quarters of a mile towards Euxton where we ran on a wide footpath which incorporated a cycle path parallel with the main road. We then turned left at approx 1.5 miles down a very quiet country lane and just after the two mile marker there was a short steep hill prior to reaching Astley.

The route turned right into the village and left back onto the Southport Road to return to the fire centre. This loop was repeated with the finish some 300 yards beyond the start of the race in the grounds of the training centre. All finishers received a medal and bottle of water. Entry Fee was £12 (Affiliated). All profits went to firefighters charity to support the families of those who have been injured or tragically killed in their line of duty. A very worthwhile cause. Unfortunately, the race was not chip timed, my Garmin showed a finish time of 48:10 against the official time of 48:19. Maybe I should have started on the front line!! However, the latter is still a seasonal best. It must have been wearing that new club vest !! I finished 162/409 runners and 3rd in my age group although only 15 seconds between me and 1st over 65 age group. The second finisher in my group was a John Shaw (no relation) who just beat me by 4 seconds. IMG_0296

After the race all runners and supporters were able to purchase Lancashire Hot Pot and Mushy Peas for a very reasonable price of £2:50 served by the firefighters in their canteen. This was a welcome addition especially as the race was run in a temperature of 3C and proved very popular with everyone including Margie and myself and I actually paid for us both !!! Overall a very well organised race which is beginning to attract a good field. Margie decided not to enter the race but enjoyed her weekend away at the Tickled Trout Hotel some 8 miles from race HQ. Later after returning to the Hotel, at approximately 10.00pm, blue flashing lights alerted us to two fire engines below our window. Apparently it was a false alarm. Margie and I thought they were bringing me my finisher’s medal as there was a shortage due to the increased numbers!
Richard Shaw

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Park Hall Cross Country – 14th November 2015

Saturday morning, the forecast said cold and wet, I had to take the boys swimming and then onto a party and the wife was working, oh and I was carrying an injury (not sure if I had mentioned this before).

So why don’t I go and run cross country at Park Hall !!

 Following the first two races at Winsford and Stafford Common, Chairman Tim gave up his place at the Six Dales to come and race. Following a very convoluted Facebook discussion Tim, Jim H, Mick D and myself met at the Tennis Club at 12:30 (well 12:35 by the time Mick had turned up via a detour to get alcohol) and made our way over to the rain soaked tracks of Park Hall.

 As we clambered up to the gazebo area we were met by Captain Bernie and Brian ‘The Barista’ Hall offering drinks of tea, coffee and hot chocolate and also the Bat Girls warming up in that type of rain that gets you soaked through !

 As with Stafford Common there was plenty of discussion about what footwear to use and from what I understood a lot of the course was on tracks so surely standard trail shoes should do even in the wet.

 At 1.30 the girls went off to the start and set off on two laps, we cheered them past and then ran back under the cover of the gazebo to keep warm and dry, well dry and only braved out again as they ran past on the next lap.

 In horrible conditions it was a great performance with Pippa Steele, Amy Gamble, Kirsty Stephenson and Julia McArthur the first four home for the club with Jackie Allen, Alison Brind, Anne-Marie Mountford, Julie Ebrey and Bonnie Seabridge. I understand Bonnie was competing in her first ever cross country and managed a sprint finish overtaking several competitors up the hill finish. The girls dragged themselves back to the gazebo to warm mulled wine and sent us boys packing off to the start.

 We huddled at the start like Emperor Penguins and then set off on our 3 laps around the park, there was quite a bit of stopping and starting in the first section due to some narrow parts but eventually we got in to our stride. It was an interesting course with undulating trails, grass downhills, muddy uphills, narrow bits with no overtaking and probably my favourite so far, unfortunately I didn’t do it justice but despite the weather it was thoroughly enjoyable.

 As I trundled round the course it was absolutely fantastic to get the support from the girls. Bearing in mind they had just ran round in the pouring rain and freezing cold they were the loudest most enthusiastic supporters and other clubs will be envious of the team spirit we show.

 I did manage a sprint finish when someone dared to try and overtake me on the final ascent…I don’t think so matey !!! It was my worst run of the three so far but I wanted to run and complete the course and save myself for Uttoxeter (honest).

 After the finish we dragged ourselves back to the gazebo to change and warm up and big thank you to Brian and Bernie for looking after us….at least we ran to keep warm, they looked after us brilliantly, it makes such a difference and it is very much appreciated.

 At this time I haven’t seen the results but I understand Steve Fenney came in an amazing 35th and Tim managed to get in 89th his first top 100 finish. Also (in no particular order), Mick Downes, Jim Holland, Fabian Carbonell, Kevin Uzzell, Alex Yendole, Jonathan Howell, Chris Ellerton, Richard Shaw, Jamie McArthur and my good self completed the slightly damp course.

 Once I have the results (and photos)I will post them on the website and facebook.

 In summary, what can I say, it was a wet and cold one but the team performance, team spirit is absolutely second to none. I can’t wait till Uttoxeter on the 12th December and if there is anyone who hasn’t ran cross country this year, or before then I highly recommend it.

 Let’s get an even bigger number out representing the Bats and finish the season on a high !!!!!

 

Paul