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The official news-sheet of Shelton Striders Running Club, founded 1984.

Number 103. March 2008.

CHARNWOOD HILLS (BOWLINE)

Sunday 3rd February 2008: cold, windy but dry, perfect weather for a cross country. Gone were the snows and frosts of the previous few days.
What lay before us was 14 miles of lovely English countryside. Rolling hills, follies, leisured Sunday morning golfers, an Elizabethan mansion where Lady Jane Grey queen for ten days and then beheaded lived, an Iron Age hill fort and a beautiful view over this lovely countryside. This is the Bowline.
Unfortunately although it sounds like an idyllic gentle Sunday morning jog, forget it. The Bowline, named after the Bowline climbing club that organises this race, is tough, but not the toughest, it's pretty but not the prettiest, it's muddy but only in spots, but it's hilly although I guess it's not the hilliest. In some ways this lady is deceptive ready to snag and grab you perhaps behead you if the work is not done.
For me I know this lady but a week's illness prior to the race left me short.
It hurt, it made me swear, at times I despaired, I hated the hills, didn't like the streams: the moorland, very pretty; the stream, bloody stupid; the folly was my folly; the wind icy and cutting.

I have a mantra, a quote from Winston Churchill. It goes like this,

Success is not final.
Defeat is not fatal.
Courage and consistency will win the day.

And so it was, success eluded me yet again. Defeat stared me in the face, the walks up the hills got harder, took longer, my legs felt heavier, the mud more clinging.
And always for runners like me, the fear, would I be last.
When there is nothing left all a runner has is courage. And so be it, courage and consistency saw me through.
Congratulations to all of our runners - Steve Hawkins, first in for the men, followed by Shaun Cooper, then Andy Brooks, Harry Sloan and Dave Thornton in a trio, Chris Sexton, Dave Keegan, Allan Barber, Chris Hopkinson, myself and Robin Hutchinson. Many congratulations to Gayle Gamble, third in overall for Striders, Sandra Butcher, Judith Marriott, Carolyn Lee and Kate Wray - all fantastic runs. As for my lady Bowline, I'll see you next year.

Love To You

Paul Webster X

PRESENTATION NIGHT - WHAT YOU THOUGHT

Thanks to those Striders who returned the questionnaire on January's Presentation Night, Dave Nunn has produced a comprehensive evaluation of the event as well as members' views on what they value for future presentations. While acknowledging that no one venue could ever please everybody, it is hoped that the vast majority will at least be satisfied with the evening: reassuringly, a massive 91% who went to The Flowerpot and answered a questionnaire had enjoyed themselves. Food, beer, city centre location, trophies, atmosphere and the disco were all rated as about right or better, up to best ever, by more than 90% of respondents. The size and comfort of the room were the areas rated least favourably: a diversity of views occurs as some want a large room with lots of seating while others would like a smaller room to make the event more intimate and cosy. A majority would prefer a large room for future evenings, and, not surprisingly, Striders want a lot of food!!
Thanks again to those who organised January's event, and to Dave for his evaluation, complete copies of which are available to read at club. As ever, if you have any further comments, speak to a committee member (see page 2) - your thoughts are always welcome.

CROSS COUNTRY SEASON COMES TO A CLOSE (ISH)

Event number 5 in this winter's Derby Runner series saw a swansong of Striders travel the short distance to Burton for the Hatton Darts races at Sinai Park. Not quite the final event of the season, as there will be a 'B' final/relay at Beaumont Lees organised by Roadhogs on 30th March. It was a good morning for running with no real breeze - a change for March! - and relatively mild conditions. Our younger runners in school years 1 to 6 again did us proud with Ewan Hepburn winning the Year 1 race, while both Luke (Year 2) and Thomas (Year 5) Pickering came second in theirs. Sam Barker continued his recent good form by finishing first in the Year 9 boys race, an excellent third overall: very well done to you all.
Striders' men improved further in the senior race as Dave Thornton, Steve Hawkins, Shaun Cooper and Chris Keegan all came home in the top 50-ish, and the quintet of Helen Brew, Gayle Gamble, Lizzie Hill, Carolyn Lee and Tracy Hepburn all ran well to keep up the ladies' challenge at the top of the 'A' league. Congratulations to everyone who ran and thanks to Kate Wray for completing the admin for us.

STUMBLING INTO SPRING

While the wind was a constant (oo-er, missis!), Dave Gristock's first Stumble of the year gave us a mix of weather from warm sunshine to snow and hail. We also took in some superb routes on the Derbyshire/Leicestershire borders, around Calke Park, Staunton Harold reservoir, Dimminsdale Nature Reserve and Breedon-on-the-Hill. The Melbourne Mumble and Blue Bell Bramble attractes a number of regulars as well as several 'virgin' Stumblers, all of whom had a great time in the beautiful countryside and welcoming pubs. Fabulous views, good company and refreshing stops en route gave the usual brilliant start to the Stumbling season for walkers, joggers and runners alike. Join Dave and others for the next personal challenge at Whatstandwell on Saturday, 5th April.

LADS AND LASSES GO LEAPING.

Even though it was blowing a gale (not Gayle!), four Striders merged in with all the 'lean, mean hard nuts' of fell racing earlier this month in the latest Headbanger event. In a very tough 5.9 mile course, incorporating the Derbyshire Fell Running Championships, we held our heads high as Steve Hawkins again came in first for the club in just under the hour. Carolyn Lee (first in her category), Chris Hopkinson and Gayle Gamble followed on a thick, black, peaty course that gave excellent views if you dared to take your eyes off the path. Certainly one to have a go at!

Previously in the Headbanger series, Steve Hawkins and Gayle Gamble ran well to be first man/lady in for the club at the Grindleford Gallop, a difficult 21 miler up in the hills of Derbyshire, with Gayle beating her previous best time by a massive 20 minutes - keep up the good work, both of you!!

The Scientific Review of Sport-Specific Nutrition

This month's review involves an exciting new discovery relating to a well known and popular brand of food commonly found in many people's kitchens, widely known to have powerful properties but dismissed by sports nutritionists as unhealthy due to its high salt content .(Published USA 4/1/2008)

Marmite's Role As A Sport-Specific Nutritional Aid, by Carroll, Rowling & Christie, University of Illinois, USA, 2008

Marmite has long been recognised by nutritional scientists as being a rich source of B vitamins, which play an essential role in assisting red blood cells to carry oxygen to muscles as well as assisting in recovery following exercise.

It is a scientific fact that anything which can boost the efficiency of red blood cells during aerobic exercise will improve performance. Tests performed at The University of Illinois' Sports Research facility have demonstrated that increasing the supply of a range of B vitamins produced dramatic effects in terms of how hard athletes of all levels of fitness could train and also upon how long they could perform at specific levels of aerobic output. See the graph below;

Anaerobic Graph The team's results demonstrated a staggering average 14% increase in the length of time at which test subjects rated as moderately fit could maintain an effort rated as greater than 80% of their maximum heart rate.
In the group of test subject rated as very fit, the results were an even more impressive average of 16%.

In another test, subjects were asked to describe how hard they were working whilst either running on a treadmill or riding static bicycles. The difference in perceived effort after taking B vitamin supplements averaged out at 13%.

Researchers were astonished by the levels of improvement in athletes of all levels of ability and fitness. However, the problem remained that the high salt content in Marmite tended to cancel out the advantages. As with many scientific advances, their next step was both epoch breaking and also accidental. One participant in the tests had kept a secret from the researchers; the fact that he hated the taste of Marmite. The $300 payment for taking part in the tests was enough to make him hide his revulsion and rather than eat the Marmite, he was discretely wiping it onto his inner thighs inside his running shorts. Expecting to be hidden in the midst of 1,000 test subjects, he in fact stood out as the athlete with the most impressive increases in functioning, recovery and performance. Not only did this occur but he also noticed that the areas of friction, which normally led to blistering and soreness, were healthy and smooth.
Researchers noted that Marmite's viscosity closely resembled that of Vaseline, a substance regularly used by athletes as a lubricant to prevent chaffing and blistering. The focus of their research changed considerably. It was noted that the positive nutritional effects of Marmite could be achieved through topical application to the skin, whilst application in this way avoided the absorption of the harmful salt content. Furthermore, the lubricant effect of Marmite replicates the role of Vaseline.

The researchers conclusion is that applying Marmite to nipples, inner thighs and other areas prone to chaffing gives both protection from soreness and also a dramatic boost to athletic performance, endurance and fitness.

For more information or for a free jar of Marmite to try, contact marmiteresearch@live.co.uk

[Club Secretary's note, there will be a large tub of Marmite available for club members to rub on their chaffable bits at the club 20k run on Wednesday 2nd April, try it, you will be amazed!]

CHAMPIONSHIP CHALLENGES

The road running series of 2008 kicked off at Ashby with the small matter of a 20 miler, used by many as a warm up race before the London Marathon. On a still and warm morning for the time of year, Harry Sloan headed home our band of blue and white striped heroes in a few minutes under two and a half hours. Harry was followed in by Neil Hancock in 2:33 and then Chris Sexton in 2:36, both completing the course in new personal best times, as did Simon Durston-Smith with his 2:42, finishing just after John Thornton. Our first two ladies home also ran personal bests, Cathy Clifford in 2:51 and Tracy Hepburn at 2:55; a glut of Striders came through the finish slightly over the three hour mark, including Heather Turley and Judith Marriott, Paul Webster and Johal Singh. Well done to you all.

MORE CONGRATULATIONS

So many more races now as we move into the brighter, warmer weather, and so many excellent Strider performances. Lisa Tatum was only a few minutes outside her personal best at the Ackworth Half Marathon this month in 2:06 on what was a tough course. Reg Forest continues to improve, and has recently completed a half in 2:10. The Stafford Half saw three of our members running, with Cathy Clifford first in for the club in a new personal best of 1:44:39, closely followed by Dave Keegan and Judith Marriott.

Fell running is also still going - tough going, by all accounts!! The latest Headbanger event was at Shining Cliffs on Easter Sunday, where Ted Murden came home a superb fourth overall, with Steve Hawkins making his way through the field after a late start to finish 11th. Chris Hopkinson & Carolyn Lee ran well, as did Gayle Gamble and Judith Marriott as they completed one lap. Read all about the exploits of Roger Booth and Dave Thornton as they ran around Rome in next month's issue. Well done to all - let us know if you've done a run anywhere. (See below, too.)

QUICK REMINDER FOR RACE RESULTS

If you have compete in any races & feel they are worth a mention in the press, please could you email either myself or Heather Turley no later than Monday evening (the information needs to be sent off to the Derby Evening Telegraph Tuesday morning). Email addresses: judith.marriott@btinternet.com heatherturley@beeb.net

We require just a few lines about the race such as - name of race, distance, road/offroad, number of Striders competed, times if at all possible, other useful info - number of entrants, weather, was it a fast course etc.
The more information we get the better chance we have of raising our profile in the Derby Evening Telegraph as well as against the other local clubs!

Thank you

Judith Marriott & Heather Turley
Shelton Striders Press Officers

FORTHCOMING ATTRACTIONS

Good luck to all who are staying at the club this evening (Friday 29th March) for the quiz in aid of Cystic Fibrosis, and all the best to those who are running in Sunday's Weston Runs - see John Thornton to enter tonight. (Don't be late - clocks go forward on Saturday night/Sunday morning!)
With many thanks to Graham Pickering and his willing band, we said farewell to our track sessions at Moorways for another season on Wednesday - thank you to those who organised the sandwiches aswell. Before starting at Darley, Dave Nunn has arranged the 5, 10, 15 and 20K runs from Pride Park for next week, Wed. 2nd April: like the Weston Runs, these - at least a couple of these - will form part of the Championship series for the year.
April 20th sees the City Centre 10K and Fun Run take place, also from Pride Park: with entries already over the 2,000 mark, you might need to move fast to get in. (And then in the event!)
The following week, the road running series is at Uttoxeter for the half marathon there: good luck to all who venture into any of these races.
After a busy opening to the year, Headbangers takes a back seat until May, when the very popular Brooksie's Bash races take place, on Sunday 4th from Ticknall Village Hall.