As many of you know the horizontal jump pits were fouled by animals over the Christmas period. The sand was treated very quickly in line with ROSPA guidance and in agreement with a number of our coaches, has been in use for a number of weeks now.

The even better news is that our landlords have ordered the delivery of replacement sand to refill both jump pits.

Arrangements are also being made for track repairs as well as a deep clean of the track at some point during March. We will advise dates and any consequences on training when we have them.

THE VAPOUR FLIES AT ARMAGH

Many of our first team runners took time out from their National preparations to make the annual pilgrimage to Armagh for the UK’s top 5K road race. What is it about this race that year after year smashes its own record-breaking times? One answer is the weather. How could a winter evening in February sandwiched between Storms Chiara and Dennis once again produce perfect racing conditions? Maybe it’s the Brexit effect this year, or could it just be the latest reaction to the notorious Nike Vapourflies? Whatever the explanation the annual pb paper chase once again defied all logic, with no less than 21 men breaking 14mins and nearer 140 15mins and what’s more not an African among them!

Only four of our 12 who made the trip – HARRY ALLEN, JACK BANCROFT, KURT TAYLOR and MIKE WILSMORE – failed to fly faster than ever before albeit only by a few seconds, and all of them had had their preparations compromised in some way by injury problems or illness. Harry’s training has been hampered by an ankle problem, Jack by chronic achilles tendinitis, Kurt by a bout of flu and Mike by on-going foot issues.

As expected our top track and cross runners on paper – CALLUM JONES and JACK MILLAR – duly led the way, both clocking substantial new PBs of 14:20, Callum despite having his training this winter periodically affected by a groin injury (osteitis pubis). Even so their times were only good enough for a place just inside the top 50! Harry (14:35), Jack B (14:41), Kurt (14:47) were next to finish, closely followed by our BTC associate ALEX CROSSLAND (14:47), JOSH MOODY (14:49), and Mike (15:00).

The rest of the squad all ran faster than ever before, while both JOE CONNORS (15:19) and ADAM WILSON (15:34) apparently might have gone even quicker had they not set 2K PBs en route! Sandwiched between them JED BARTLETT (15:27) shaved a few more seconds off his previous best, as did OLLY SHEPPARD (15:37) and PETE BAINS (15:47). To put it all in perspective Pete’s time could win most local parkruns, and even possibly our own Pomphrey 5K, yet it was only fast enough here for 217^th position!

My own prediction is that the Vapour will fly even faster next year as the shoe companies continue to vie with one another to produce the perfect “springboard”, be it by further juxtaposition of carbon fibre plates or varying composition of foam. However for all of you it’s now back to the real world of a windswept Aztec West on Tuesday evening. At least a good old slice of British mud should produce an even playing-field at Wollatton Park on Saturday, on more of which I will report later in the week.

Steve Grant reports

Bristol & West has not hosted a Gwent League Cross-Country race day for a long time and we managed to convince the League to fund a more salubrious venue to
make our return. They very much regarded this type of venue as a new departure and were willing to support it as a trial. We need to wait and see what the League made of the event and its finances. They have a wide ranging questionnaire on their website so if you liked or didn’t like Chepstow, let them know as well sharing your views on other issues such chip timing and gender equality of race distances – https://www.gwent-league.org.uk/

We started investigating venues back in March and settled on Chepstow Racecourse after a viability check on a truly horrendous wet and windy day and a follow up visit to do the detailed course layout on a blistering hot day. That’s British weather for you.

All the exciting stuff of further negotiations with the League, identification and selection of the paramedics, preparation of course information and maps, risk
assessment and scheduling of our on-course marshals eventually got us to the race weekend.

The course was set up on Friday after a trip to Cardiff to get the mats to cover the roads. The first surprise was that the inner rail of the racecourse had been moved near the Start area requiring a course modification and the loss of another interesting up and down. Most other things were as expected but deciding to set the course up on Friday rather than Saturday morning had already paid off. With every stake Bristol & West owns used somewhere on the course, we were ready and hoped the wind wouldn’t give us a wrecked course in the morning. On race day the overnight and daytime weather was being kind and with the marshals deployed, the U11’s got the races going. You have to love the enthusiasm of this age group and with decent size fields they give us all some encouragement
about the future of the sport.

All was going well until we realised the ‘link lap’ could have been better laid out. After a quick redistribution of our on-course marshals, “ assertive vocal stakes and tape” were deployed to clear the path for runners doing multiple laps. It wasn’t perfect but it worked, and is about the only significant area we need to modify if there is a next time, but it is an easy fix.

The races were clicking past with plenty of opportunity for the marshals to cheer on our red and white vests and the good representations from the other Bristol clubs despite the South-West schools event being held on the same day. There was lots of watch checking going on in the younger age groups so maybe our  coaches could have a word.

The SW & Masters race looked like a B&W takeover from the front of the field to about 1/3 rd of the way down, and the fantastic results back that up. Marshals have to be ready for all eventualities and a very hot and distressed Newport runner stripped off just to the point of decency, thrust her second layer top into our Marshals arms saying something like “too hot,.. can’t .run , too warm” and then she was off putting her vest back on as she ran. What a great competitive attitude.

The biggest test of any course is the race with the largest field, in this case it was the SM & Masters race and it was a proper spectacle to behold. As the leaders approached the middle of the course, you could still see a solid trail of moving men on the far hill about 800m away. One of the paramedic teams couldn’t get over the number of runners and the level of effort that was being expelled, and they are well used to attending sporting events.

After the Lord Mayor’s show comes the clear up, and it is then that you realise how big the course is. With a small band of helpers and the ability to get cars on the
course, we got there but not quite quick enough to get the last of us off site before they locked the gates. It’s only funny now because we chanced over someone who had keys after about 30 minutes.

On to the roll of honour for making this event happen:

• The very special on-the day volunteers in alphabetical order– Neil Barratt, Matt Burden, Tom Burgess, Tanya Chowdery and children, Sian Davis, Chris Elson, Ellen Harrison, Nicky Hodges, Bill Hull, Tariq Kurd, Sarah McNamara, Rosey Mushens and Paul Owen
• The very very special on-the-day volunteers who had no reason to be at Chepstow other than to help out – Mike Lewin, Nick Roberts and Fliss Russell
• The event preparation and course layout team – Keith Brackstone, Roger Brockelsby, Steve Grant and Owain Jones

IT’S WOLLATON PARK VIA ARMAGH PAPER CHASE!

With the first of our big winter targets now just ten days away and counting, it’s time to reprise what our runners have been up to since the Midland cross championships. Our Tri-Counties champion and South West silver medallist FELIX MCGRATH, who missed the Midland event due to a holiday in the States, returned to action with a reassuring effort in the popular Alsager 5M. Despite racing almost straight off the plane he was well satisfied at holding five minute mile pace all the way to finish a creditable 13^th in 25:02.

On the same day further south marathon man PETE LE GRICE also returned to competition in the Chichester 10K. Unfortunately he suffered a minor problem with his breathing, albeit nothing like as devastating as he had experienced in the Frankfurt marathon back in October. The net result was that he had to be satisfied with a time of only 30:59, though he is unworried about this latest episode and has already begun his training build-up to the London marathon.

Meanwhile not so far from Chichester at Sherborne in Dorset JOHNNY SUTTLE failed by less than half a minute to win the Blackmore Vale Lions Half marathon, finishing a close third in 75:08.That weekend also saw the welcome return to action of JACK BANCROFT, who has been sidelined with a chronic achilles problem since the autumn, and hopefully just in time for the spring road relays he clocked an encouraging 15:23 just ahead of JOSH MOOODY at the Cardiff Parkrun.

Moving on to last weekend congratulations are due to JACK MILLAR, who had led our team home  in 4^th place at the Midland championships. As a result of his performance there as well as as his two earlier top ten finishes in UK Cross Challenge races at Cardiff and Milton Keynes, he was selected for the six man England team that contested the latest Belgium Cross Cup race. It was Jack’s first international selection on the continent and he more than did himself justice by finishing third Briton in 11^th place.

Jack was not our only runner in European action at the weekend, as ANDY CHAMBERS, who has been honing his fitness for the National on a warm weather training trip to Spain, saw off the challenge of a Finnish track champion to win a local 8K race in an impressive time of 24:36, and that too despite losing some ten seconds through taking a wrong turn near the finish.

Main focus on the home front at the weekend was the club’s promotion of the latest Gwent League race at Chepstow racecourse. JOHNNY SUTTLE, who is a glutton for punishment and another of our runners in heavy marathon training, led Chris Elson’s team to another overall victory in 6^th place. He was chased all the way by our evergreen vet GRAHAM BREEN in 9^th place, while behind our leading pair OLLY SHEPPARD produced his best run of the winter in 12^th place, with ROB FARLEY 21^st, ANDY COOKE 22^nd, MACIEJ BIALOGONSKI 27^th and PETE BAINS 30^th, all in the top 30 of the huge field to confirm our superiority.

Attention now switches temporarily back to the road this week and the annual pilgrimage to Ireland for the Armagh international 5K. Not only is it one of the year’s PB havens, but if you want to make the year’s top 50 5K times, it`s a race you simply can’t afford to miss – a veritable Vapourfly paper chase! Our BTC training group needed no inviting, with a near full strength squad making the trek across the Irish Sea. At the last count our prospective line-up included HARRY ALLEN, PETE BAINS, JED BARTLETT, CALLUM JONES, JACK MILLAR, JOSH MOODY, OLLY SHEPPARD, KURT TAYLOR, ADAM WILSON and MIKE WILSMORE.

Kurt travels despite having only just shaken off a nasty bout of flu, but unfortunately FELIX MCGRATH, who has been nursing a heavy cold since the weekend, has wisely decided to pull out to concentrate on making a full recovery before next week’s d-day. Another of our National runners missing will be ANDY WATT, who though managing a hip strain did complete a gruelling midweek grass session successfully with our cross captain OWAIN JONES.

An Armagh review will follow in next week’s final countdown to the National.

Mike Strange reports… 

It was very disappointing to be at Cardiff last week-end and observe only one Bristol & West athlete competing.  I realise that he is Welsh qualified by parents but these Championships were ‘Open’ so you others, why miss out on a local competition???

The athlete that did compete was infact Owen GARRETT in the U13 Shot and he did us proud by coming away with a Silver Medal and beating his own Club Indoor Record by 46cm in a tight final.  Owen who is now a regular performer at Cardiff had only one measured Put in the competition but that distance of 7.51m was enough to take the medal.  Well done Owen who is pictured on the Rostrum (below).

Before I leave on my winter holiday I should clear up a couple of important omissions from the last week:-

Most prominent was the magnificent 4.45m clearance in the Pole Vault (very close to her 4.47m Indoor Club Record) by Lucy BRYAN in Ohio USA.  In this Olympic year we trust that Lucy will move on to even greater achievements.

I see from Po10 that we have a top Woman middle distance runner in our ranks, joining us from Scotland is Emily STRATHDEE.  Emily ran a fine 4:44.77 for 1,500m at Cardiff on 19th Jan so will no doubt feature in our much strengthened National League team in 2020.   Also strengthening our middle distance league squad will be Higher Competition Member Chloe CROSSMAN.  Chloe who is regularly training at Whitehall has run in January 2:10.79 and 2:11.84 for 800m and 4:38.70 for 1,500m so can be considered a prolific performer Indoors.  Welcome to both Emily and Chloe.  

While I am away I am sure the Indoor Athletes would appreciate their efforts being recorded and published.  So if anyone cares to carry on the task in my absence I would appreciate it.

Mike Strange 3 Feb 2020