12-month Rollings Rankings > end Mar09 (age%)

Rank		Name		Date of Race	Distance	Name of Race	Time	WAVA
1		HALLNEILSON	m	Sun 05/10/08	10kmRoad	Standalone 10k (ROTM)	00:31:05	86.38%
2		MCKEOWNAstrid	f	Wed 12/11/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series I (ROTM)	00:17:38	84.81%
3		MckeownSteve	m	Mon 26/05/08	10kmRoad	Hatfield Broadoak 10k	00:34:23	82.02%
4		FramptonDavid	m	Sun 15/03/09	Half.Mar	Silverstone HM	01:24:21	81.46%
5		SMITHERStewart	m	Wed 26/11/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series II	00:20:02	80.77%
6		ScrowtherPeter	m	Mon 30/03/09	10Mile	Sandy 10	01:00:21	80.16%
7		HumphreysLuke	m	Sun 01/02/09	5MileRoad	Alsager 5	00:26:45	80.14%
8		BRYANTStewart	m	Sun 14/09/08	10kmRoad	Bedford Invitation 10k	00:39:20	79.32%
9		PowellDonald	m	Mon 26/05/08	10kmRoad	Hatfield Broadoak 10k	00:47:35	79.10%
10		MYALLDerek	m	Wed 26/11/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series II	00:20:49	78.42%
11		SibbettPeter	m	Sat 29/11/08	5MileRoad	Wolverton 5	00:29:57	78.28%
12		AdamsPaula	f	Thu 29/05/08	10kmRoad	FVS MWL 10k	00:39:41	78.25%
13		FootSusan	F	Sun 08/03/09	Half.Mar	Nike+ Milton Keynes HM	01:44:45	78.14%
14		YOUNGMark	m	Wed 12/11/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series I (ROTM)	00:18:27	77.45%
15		WINTERSMelissa	F	Wed 12/11/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series I (ROTM)	00:19:17	77.10%

12-month Rolling Rankings > end Mar09 (Women)

Rank		Name	Date of Race	Distance	Name of Race	Time	WAVA
1		MCKEOWNAstrid	Wed 12/11/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series I (ROTM)	00:17:38	84.81%
2		WINTERSMelissa	Wed 12/11/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series I (ROTM)	00:19:17	77.10%
3		TROTTSuzy	Wed 10/12/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series Race III	00:22:07	67.40%
4		PRIESTLEYAnna	Wed 12/11/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series I (ROTM)	00:23:40	73.32%
5		DODSWORTHKaren	Wed 12/11/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series I (ROTM)	00:23:46	69.46%
6		ANNETTSRachel	Wed 10/12/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series Race III	00:24:58	66.12%
7		COOKLindsay	Wed 12/11/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series I (ROTM)	00:25:11	59.04%
8		SHARPChristine	Wed 12/11/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series I (ROTM)	00:28:01	61.16%
		Only 8 qualifying runners in period
1		MckeownAstrid	Fri 08/08/08	5MileRoad	Cranfield 5	00:29:32	82.79%
2		PriestleyAnna	Sat 29/11/08	5MileRoad	Wolverton 5	00:38:09	75.34%
3		AnnettsRachel	Fri 08/08/08	5MileRoad	Cranfield 5	00:40:40	66.38%
4		DodsworthKaren	Sun 07/09/08	5MileRoad	Swineshead 5 (ROTM)	00:40:55	65.97%
5		AirdLinda	Sun 11/05/08	5MileRoad	Marlow 5	00:41:56	65.17%
		Only 5 qualifying runners in period
1		MCKEOWNASTRID	Sun 05/10/08	10kmRoad	Standalone 10k (ROTM)	00:36:52	83.13%
2		AdamsPaula	Thu 29/05/08	10kmRoad	FVS MWL 10k	00:39:41	78.25%
3		WintersMelissa	Mon 26/05/08	10kmRoad	Hatfield Broadoak 10k	00:40:02	75.97%
4		PitmanNatasha	Thu 29/05/08	10kmRoad	FVS MWL 10k	00:40:09	75.90%
5		CHAPPELLJane	Sun 05/10/08	10kmRoad	Standalone 10k (ROTM)	00:41:59	74.39%
6		SummersJo	Thu 29/05/08	10kmRoad	FVS MWL 10k	00:46:10	69.05%
7		HarbonJo	Thu 29/05/08	10kmRoad	FVS MWL 10k	00:46:41	69.46%
8		TrottSuzy	Thu 29/05/08	10kmRoad	FVS MWL 10k	00:46:41	65.28%
9		PriestleyAnna	Sun 15/06/08	10kmRoad	Barts London 10k (Victoria Park)	00:47:57	74.17%
10		GregsonSharon	Thu 29/05/08	10kmRoad	FVS MWL 10k	00:48:23	64.55%
1		MckeownAstrid	Sun 21/09/08	10Mile	Leighton 10	01:01:03	82.23%
2		WintersMelissa	Sun 28/12/08	10Mile	Buntingford 10	01:06:17	75.30%
3		PITMANNatasha	Sun 29/03/09	10Mile	Sandy 10	01:10:00	71.49%
4		TROTTSuzy	Sun 29/03/09	10Mile	Sandy 10	01:15:14	66.52%
5		GregsonSharon	Sun 28/12/08	10Mile	Buntingford 10	01:21:28	63.18%
6		DODSWORTHKaren	Sun 29/03/09	10Mile	Sandy 10	01:21:56	68.47%
7		ANNETTSRachel	Sun 18/01/09	10Mile	Fred Hughes 10 (ROTM)	01:25:57	64.48%
8		AirdLinda	Sun 28/12/08	10Mile	Buntingford 10	01:27:35	64.85%
9		PiumiAngela	Sun 28/12/08	10Mile	Buntingford 10	01:27:56	57.31%
10		Marsden-JonesCatherine	Wed 12/11/08	10Mile	Henlow 10	01:28:10	56.94%
1		MckeownAstrid	Sun 20/04/08	Half.Mar	Bonn HM	01:19:09	84.15%
2		WINTERSMelissa	Sun 16/11/08	Half.Mar	St Neot's HM	01:29:10	74.23%
3		ADAMSPaula	Sun 16/11/08	Half.Mar	St Neot's HM	01:30:23	75.39%
4		MESSENGERClaire	Sun 16/11/08	Half.Mar	St Neot's HM	01:35:47	69.89%
5		SummersJo	Sun 01/02/09	Half.Mar	Watford HM	01:39:49	70.64%
6		TrottSuzy	Sun 08/03/09	Half.Mar	Nike+ Milton Keynes HM	01:42:03	65.06%
7		NortheyTeresa	Sun 15/03/09	Half.Mar	Bath HM	01:43:56	64.12%
8		GREGSONSharon	Sun 16/11/08	Half.Mar	St Neot's HM	01:44:33	65.66%
9		FootSusan	Sun 08/03/09	Half.Mar	Nike+ Milton Keynes HM	01:44:45	78.14%
10		PriestleyAnna	Sun 20/07/08	Half.Mar	NSPCC MK HM	01:47:30	73.17%
1		PitmanNatasha	Sun 26/10/08	Marathon	Basel Marathon	03:04:56	73.69%
2		WINTERSMELISSA	Sun 13/04/08	Marathon	London Marathon	03:10:16	71.42%
3		CHAPPELLJANE	Sun 13/04/08	Marathon	London Marathon	03:15:09	71.67%
4		SummersJo	Sun 22/03/09	Marathon	Rome Marathon	03:26:33	71.02%
5		MESSENGERCLAIRE	Sun 13/04/08	Marathon	London Marathon	03:28:16	65.95%

12-month Rollings Rankings > end Mar09 (Men)

Rank		Name	Date of Race	Event	Name of Race	Time	WAVA
1		McKeownSteve	Fri 25/07/08	5kmRoad	Serpentine LFOTM 5k	00:16:35	81.70%
2		COOKGary	Wed 26/11/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series II	00:17:27	74.51%
3		SAVILLEOliver	Wed 26/11/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series II	00:17:34	73.44%
4		ATKINSJames	Wed 12/11/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series I (ROTM)	00:17:35	73.36%
5		SCROWTHERPeter	Wed 12/11/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series I (ROTM)	00:17:53	79.28%
6		YOUNGMark	Wed 12/11/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series I (ROTM)	00:18:27	77.45%
7		SIBBETTPeter	Wed 26/11/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series II	00:18:33	76.43%
8		SHERWOODAdrian	Wed 12/11/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series I (ROTM)	00:18:36	75.06%
9		BryantStewart	Fri 29/08/08	5kmRoad	Serpentine LFOTM 5k	00:18:57	79.10%
10		NORTHOVERPete	Wed 26/11/08	5kmRoad	Stevenage 5k Series II	00:18:58	69.12%
1		HumphreysLuke	Sun 01/02/09	5MileRoad	Alsager 5	00:26:45	80.14%
2		MckeownSteve	Fri 08/08/08	5MileRoad	Cranfield 5	00:27:44	80.79%
3		AtkinsJames	Sun 07/09/08	5MileRoad	Swineshead 5 (ROTM)	00:29:17	72.85%
4		SavilleOliver	Sat 29/11/08	5MileRoad	Wolverton 5	00:29:20	72.73%
5		ScrowtherPeter	Sat 29/11/08	5MileRoad	Wolverton 5	00:29:21	79.88%
6		SibbettPeter	Sat 29/11/08	5MileRoad	Wolverton 5	00:29:57	78.28%
7		BryantStewart	Fri 08/08/08	5MileRoad	Cranfield 5	00:32:00	77.47%
8		kelleypaul	Fri 08/08/08	5MileRoad	Cranfield 5	00:32:27	77.02%
9		FranklinJohn	Fri 08/08/08	5MileRoad	Cranfield 5	00:32:45	70.50%
10		AnnettsMartyn	Fri 08/08/08	5MileRoad	Cranfield 5	00:33:04	69.82%
1		HALLNEILSON	Sun 05/10/08	10kmRoad	Standalone 10k (ROTM)	00:31:05	86.38%
2		MckeownSteve	Mon 26/05/08	10kmRoad	Hatfield Broadoak 10k	00:34:23	82.02%
3		CookGary	Sun 20/04/08	10kmRoad	Flitwick 10k	00:36:10	74.60%
4		AtkinsJames	Sun 20/04/08	10kmRoad	Great Langdale 10k	00:36:56	72.70%
5		ScrowtherPeter	Sun 16/11/08	10kmRoad	Chelmsford 10k	00:37:15	79.22%
6		SavilleOliver	Thu 01/01/09	10kmRoad	Serpentine New Year's Day 10k	00:37:35	71.45%
7		NORTHOVERPete	Sun 14/09/08	10kmRoad	Bedford Invitation 10k	00:38:13	71.07%
8		FramptonDavid	Sun 14/09/08	10kmRoad	Bedford Invitation 10k	00:38:49	80.38%
9		HarbonRichard	Mon 26/05/08	10kmRoad	Hatfield Broadoak 10k	00:38:55	76.42%
10		BRYANTStewart	Sun 14/09/08	10kmRoad	Bedford Invitation 10k	00:39:20	79.32%
1		ScrowtherPeter	Sun 29/03/09	10Mile	Sandy 10	01:00:21	80.16%
2		COOKGary	Sun 18/01/09	10Mile	Fred Hughes 10 (ROTM)	01:01:01	72.89%
3		ATKINSJames	Sun 18/01/09	10Mile	Fred Hughes 10 (ROTM)	01:01:36	72.05%
4		SibbettPeter	Sun 28/12/08	10Mile	Buntingford 10	01:04:09	76.03%
5		FramptonDavid	Sun 28/12/08	10Mile	Buntingford 10	01:04:23	79.61%
6		SHERWOODAdrian	Sun 18/01/09	10Mile	Fred Hughes 10 (ROTM)	01:04:52	73.41%
7		SAVILLEOliver	Sun 18/01/09	10Mile	Fred Hughes 10 (ROTM)	01:05:13	68.06%
8		YoungMark	Sun 28/12/08	10Mile	Buntingford 10	01:05:16	74.73%
9		BryantStewart	Sun 28/12/08	10Mile	Buntingford 10	01:06:38	76.92%
10		SPINKSJohnny	Sun 18/01/09	10Mile	Fred Hughes 10 (ROTM)	01:06:44	70.79%
1		McKeownSteve	Sun 20/04/08	Half.Mar	Bonn HM	01:18:18	78.17%
2		ATKINSJames	Sun 22/02/09	Half.Mar	Great North West HM Blackpool	01:19:13	74.75%
3		CookGary	Sun 08/03/09	Half.Mar	Nike+ Milton Keynes HM	01:21:01	73.11%
4		ScrowtherPeter	Sun 08/03/09	Half.Mar	Nike+ Milton Keynes HM	01:21:36	78.69%
5		SIBBETTPeter	Sun 14/12/08	Half.Mar	Bedford HM	01:24:14	76.23%
6		FramptonDavid	Sun 15/03/09	Half.Mar	Silverstone HM	01:24:21	81.46%
7		SHERWOODAdrian	Sun 16/11/08	Half.Mar	St Neot's HM	01:24:39	74.63%
8		YoungMark	Sun 15/03/09	Half.Mar	Bath HM	01:24:53	76.28%
9		SavilleOliver	Sun 02/11/08	Half.Mar	Barns Green HM	01:26:28	68.48%
10		THACKERAYRichard	Sun 16/11/08	Half.Mar	St Neot's HM	01:27:47	72.56%
1		CookGary	Sun 02/11/08	Marathon	NYC Marathon	02:54:52	71.44%
2		THACKERAYRICHARD	Sun 13/04/08	Marathon	London Marathon	03:08:00	69.80%
3		SpinksJohnny	Sun 01/03/09	Marathon	Barcelona Marathon	03:12:04	67.76%
4		YOUNGMARK	Sun 13/04/08	Marathon	London Marathon	03:14:10	68.75%
5		BRYANTSTEWART	Sun 13/04/08	Marathon	London Marathon	03:14:38	72.96%

Sandy 10 Mile Race

Given the windy weather in the week leading up to this race, it was a relief to witness blue skies and light winds on Sunday morning. The clocks going forward robbed us of an hour in bed, but other than that, I was feeling positive about the race.

My time at the Nike MK HM in very windy conditions made me feel I could better my 10M PB of 01:01:01 set in Dec 2008. Having done Sandy 10 last year, I now felt the trick was to get up the big hill in mile 2 at a reasonable, but not suicidal pace. To this end, I had decided to run the whole race strictly within my lactate-threshold HR zone. If things were looking good by mile 8, they would look even better by the finish, as the last 2 miles is mostly down (the first 2 in reverse).



Sandy 10 and it's undulations - what goes around, comes around




Unfortunately, Gary Cook and I were unable to continue our (friendly) competition in the 12-month rolling 10M rankings due to Gary’s knee giving out again after about three miles. Hopefully, Gary will be back on top form soon.

The first 2 miles are the toughest and at the top of the hill my mile-pace was around 6:13, which I was quite happy with. By the 5 mile mark it was down to 6:05 and remained so by the 8 mile mark. This was a great boost as my PB 10M pace was 6:06 and I was ahead of this with a downhill 2M to come.

As I turned off the road onto the final 4-500m up to the school my watch was saying 6:00 pace! In general, I have found the Garmins are usually correct for average pace to within 2s either way. On this occasion, the error was not in my favour, and my actual mile pace was 6:02.1 – giving a time of 01:00:21.

Due to my immediate post-race delirium, I misread the watch as 01:00:00.21. Thus, when the results came up, I initially thought I’d been robbed of 21s. Closer inspection of the watch post-delirium revealed my school-boy error and avoided an embarrassing contestation of the time with race officials!

So, all-in-all, a very good day for me. A new 10M PB and MV45 Club Record (beating my own previous mark) and my first ever age% score over eighty (80.16%). My finishing position was 17th (6th MV40). Last year, the same time would have achieved 11th place and 5th MV40. Perhaps there was a stonger field this year as the race was also the Beds County Champs?

Given my mile-pace of 6:02.1 was very close to my 10k PB pace of 5:59.7, my next 10k race might be interesting.

Nike+ Milton Keynes Half-marathon

I felt that my performance at the East Haddon XC suggested I was coming back into my late 2008 form. This race would show if this was indeed the case. The Met Office were not making me feel optimistic however, with predicted winds of over 20 mph and gusts of well over 40mph, plus heavy rain.

As it turned out, the wind predictions were accurate, perhaps even conservative, but at least rain at least held off. I subscribe to the assertion that you lose more time running into a wind than you gain having it behind you. So, when it’s windy, you will lose time, even if you spend equal distances with the wind into/behind you. With a southerly wind, it looked like the latter half of the race would be tough, and so it proved!



Look closely and you can almost feel the wind!


I expected this to be a fairly flat route as it covers some of the same ground as the Wolverton 5. For the first 5 miles I concluded the wind must be behind me, as I averaged under 6:08/mile – not far off my 10 mile PB pace. Then as the course started to turn into the wind, the mile splits started to get slower – and then much slower!

I was trying to run to a target heart-rate and so tried not to worry about the splits too much. This was helped by seeing that those around me were slowing down at least as much. By the end of mile 12, my average mile-pace had dropped from sub-6:08 at the 5-mile mark to 6:16! Then, at last, some respite. As the 12 mile marker approached, we changed direction, not only losing the worst of the wind, but starting to go slightly downhill. Mercifully, the route continued gently down for all but the last 400 metres of the race. As a result, my average pace was back to a shade under 6:14/mile by the finish.

I had not looked at the actual time on my watch, but I knew my PB was set at 6:20 pace, so I was almost certainly going to set a new PB. As I entered the final straight I could see the line and the race clock, the latter showing about 01:21:20. I put on a final sprint, overtaking one more runner and, on my watch, recorded a start>finish line time of 01:21:35. In the conditions, I was very happy with this new PB!

Three-counties Cross Country - East Haddon

Due to the cancellation of Ampthill, this was the final race of the series. NHRR were standing 3rd in the overall, men and ladies rankings before the race. The main mission of the day was to at least maintain our 3rd position overall. As only 18 NHRRs managed to make the trip, this was looking like it could be a tall order.

As it turned out, attendance seemed low in general, so it would be a case of who was missing from what club rather than how many. In the circumstances, NHRR performed heroically, with the men finishing 2nd and the ladies 5th. This was good enough for 2nd overall on the day and 3rd overall in the series – hoorah – and one place higher than last season too!

So how did this race contribute to my difficult ongoing courtship with XC?

Well, the conditions under-foot were pretty good and it wasn’t too hilly (well apart from the last 1.5 miles which is just about ALL uphill) and there was little wind to contend with. I think I paced things pretty well and was happy with my position in the gent’s race of 14th (4th male Vet 40-49). In fact, but for a tactical error, I think I could have made this 12th. I made my final move a too early and paid for it the last 100m. Putting this in context, the two gents who just pipped me to the line had beaten me comfortably in 2 previous races and 2 of the gents some way behind had also beaten me twice previously. So overall, a fairly positive experience for this XC-phobe and probably my best ever XC performance.

PS - have subsequently noticed that, by my own unofficial calcs, I was 6th MV40 over the series (best 3 races) - pretty pleased with that, given the strength of competition in that age category.

So, there is still some way to go in my courtship with XC, and conditions were favourable, but there are some promising signs. I think we may have at last run hand-in-hand for a short time across the fields!

___________________________________________________________________



Click on image to enlarge


As a footnote, I have also noticed that the nasty little incline just before the turn-back went on for a bit longer this year, also extending the course a bit. The graphic to the left illustrates the point. On the other hand, perhaps the runner who posted the data for 2008 cut the corner?!