Newswletter – July 2002

 
300^th EditionWell, who would have guessed it? In November 1976 someone had the bright idea of issuing a newsletter to keep members and friends up to date with club activities. Here we are now some 25 years on with our tercentennial edition, trying to maintain the standards set by previous editors. The newsletter has had to report a variety of news, whether good or bad, but the continuing theme is one of a small village club with with a great team spirit, not only amongst it’s competing athletes but also it’s band of supporters and helpers.
The newsletter has had numerous editors over the years and I now realise what problems they have all had meeting that end of month deadline, struggling to find an item to fill out a thin edition, and of course being given another late report to tack on at the last minute. Despite all of this I still feel a perverse pleasure at seeing a new edition hit the changing room bench and hear the anguished cries as it’s eager readership digest every single word.
Special thanks to Frank and JT for there items this month and many thanks to all of those people who have contributed articles in the past, it’s your contributions that make the newsletter what it is, so please keep those race reports coming and lets look towards number 301.
FIXTURES:
 
 

 
FRANNY’S BITS.
Looking ahead, here are the dates for next season’s cross country fixtures, (venues still need to be confirmed).
12^th October Winchester 2^nd November Goodwood
30^th November Reading 11^th January Overton
1^st February Bournemouth
The other major cross-country fixtures are: Southern Veteran XC Championship at Bournemouth 14^th December.
County Championship at Dibden Inclosure 4^th January.
County Schools Championship 18^th January.
Southern Counties Championship at Exeter 25^th January.
National Championship at Parliament Hill 22^nd February.
English Schools Championship at Brighton 8^th March.
The latest addition to the consistency league is the HEADINGTON 5 miles on August 25^th. This has been a popular event for some members of the club for several years and is held over a “flat, one lap course” near to Oxford. This race will also be the club 5-mile championship. There are numerous entry forms available and entries are also being taken on the day. There are also children’s fun runs after the main event.
As mentioned in the last newsletter the Alice Holt 10km on September 15^th is also a consistency event. Once again entry forms are on the notice board.
The summer handicaps are reaching their conclusion and league tables are on the board. These events are for club members and it has been mentioned that some of the people I have listed are not paid up members. If you wish to be included in any club competition please can you contact Denny who is responsible for collected the subs.
This summer has seen a big improvement in the numbers running in road races, especially amongst the ladies. If you can help both Geoff and myself by trying to get the results on the day and letting Geoff have them ASAP so that he can put in a report to the local newspapers. If you wish to write out a brief report for the club newsletter, pass it on to me or failing that I will do it for you once I have the results.
BRAISHFIELD 5 MILE ROAD RACE – 16.6.02 BY J.T.
The fourth consistency event attracted only 8 members from the Club for this year’s Braishfield ‘5’. In extremely humid conditions the club was led home by Mike Bliss, who had an excellent race in 4th place and only 13 seconds behind Jamie Jones.
Cath had a rare outing on the roads to come home in the 2nd lady spot just in front of Darren Cuff who will soon be jetting off to Nigeria where he is expecting to stay for some time.
Eric was somewhat disappointed with his effort, which came soon after his holidays in Zante. As he only ran once or twice on his holiday a general lack of fitness was to be expected.
J.T. found the humid conditions a bit difficult but was spurred on to greater efforts at about 2 miles in an attempt to shake off Gwyneth who was making a determined effort to run the legs off him. This was not to be and she completed a good some 1½ minutes adrift.
Karen and Belinda completed the Club interest, both having excellent runs showing that regular races are the
best way for improvement.
 
 
RESULTS
4 M Bliss 26-20 (3rd Vet)
23 C Wheeler 30-55 (2nd Lady)
30 D Cuff 31-27
52 E Tilbury 34-28
97 J Thomas 38-35
110 G McLaughlin 40-11
124 K Burton 42-10
137 B Lade 44-23
Men’s team (4 counters) 5th
Ladies’ team (3 counters) 3rd
152 finished.

 
KINTBURY 5M ROAD & TRACK RACE – 29.6.02 BY JT.
This event is organised by our old friend, Dave Wright, of Newbury A.C. and unfortunately attracted a very small field, probably because of poor publicity and the fact it did not take place last year because of foot and mouth. The first 2½ or so miles are on the roads and then take to tracks and farm roads to finish again on roads in the town of Kintbury. The first mile includes a long hill which comes as a bit of a shock so early in the race but then levels off and then a general fall on the tracks.
Jamie Jones shot off at the very start and soon opened up a gap as the race wound up the hill. The rest of us struggled to get to the top so that the running could become a little easier. Eric improved on his Braishfield run by nearly 1½ minute convincing him that fitness was returning ahead of Dave Titcomb who obtained a substantial improvement on his PB for the distance in around 35 minutes. Regular training is obviously paying off.
Frank Kenny has recently recovered from injury and therefore this was a rare turnout for the Club but he is obviously happy to be training and racing again after a long lay off.
Both Karen and Belinda improved on their Braishfield performances by approximately 3 minutes which is an enormous difference. One can only assume that the distances are correct.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
20 E Tilbury 34-01
22 D Titcomb 35-00
26 F Kenny 36-24
30 J Thomas 37-55
36 K Burton 39-20 (8th Lady) 44 B Lade 41-12 (16th Lady) 61 finished
 

 
 
 
 STOKE SIX-MILE 6th July from Franny
A good turnout of twelve runners for the first running of this local event in the Bourne Valley that incorporated loops of the now defunct St. Marybourne half-marathon and fun run. The weather was sunny and rather warm. An interesting course with three good hills meant that times were, for some, slower than expected.First home was Mark who went off with the leading group of six and after the first climb was safely in fourth place which he managed to hold onto until the end. I also made a fast start and was feeling comfortable until the turn just before halfway. A good second half saw me pick up another place for a very pleasing result. Dave Bright put in a good performance especially as it was his third race of the week. His fast finish enabled him to catch Denny in the last few hundred metres. Mark just missed the 40 minute barrier in what was his first race for quite some time but hopefully he will be able to race more in the coming months.
Eric appeared to have a steady run as he recovers from his holiday while Dave Titcomb showed a continued improvement. Nicky put her injury problems behind her to finish fourth lady and just got the judges decision over Mike. Liz just missed the 45-minute barrier and Karen clocked a good time despite the hilly course. Completing the squad was Helen who finished with a fair sized section of the field behind her.
The only club member to win a prize was young Alex who had a great run to finish second in the 6km event. He totally dominated the under 15 section and only lost out to a vet45 in the overall results. Well done to him.

106 Finished.
 

 
Approx. 30 Finished.
 


HAMPSHIRE SCHOOLS CHAMPS – 6 JULY 2002- SOUTHAMPTON from Mike Bliss
Josh was selected to run the under 14 boys, 1500m, for Andover and District schools, after winning their champs three weeks ago. As he was not 13 until the following week, he was nearly a year younger than some of the others. He was also the only runner not wearing spikes, but, even worse – wearing a pair of his old mans old racing flats. Our fears that the others were ‘proper’ athletes who had been training and racing for a while, were confirmed by a Winchester runner, who stated he had ran against most of the others a few times this season, and he had yet to beat them. The Winchester lad had ran 5.03 this season, but advised Josh to ‘let the Aldershot runners go, as they run 4.30 – 4.40″. Josh had only ran 5.22 in his one and only 1500m. However, being selected for the Hampshire champs had encouraged him to train with the Harriers on Thursdays and with Geoff on the track on Tuesdays. With only 6 training sessions behind him, despite our words of encouragement, Julie and I were convinced he was going to be slaughtered and worried that it would kill off his knew found enthusiasm for athletics.
At the gun, there was the usual mad start for the first 100m before Josh got into a sensible pace and about 6^th place. However, the ’sensible’ Josh only lasted for 200m before he increased his pace and overtook all the other runners by the end of the first lap, which he completed in 69sec! This led to increased anxiety for his parents and a frantic shout to “slow down Josh, you’ve still got 2 3/4 laps to go”. Luckily the sensible Josh re-emerged and he eased off, allowing the first two runners to pass and then managing to hold a gap of about 10 metres behind. The leader gradually increased his lead to win in 4.42. Josh was still 3^rd with 300m to go and then, to our surprise, started a mad sprint. He caught and passed the 2^nd placed runner, opened a gap – but then blew up around the bend. His more experienced rival sprinted with 150m to go and didn’t blow up, to finish 2nd. Julie’s and my amazement at him being ’up there’, was turning to dismay (for Josh) as with 50m to go, the apparently plodding Josh was caught by a fast finishing runner. Though a 4th place would have been an unimagined and brilliant position, having been well ahead of the 4^th runner for most of the race, and to lose out ‘on the medals’, would have been disappointing. But Josh was to surprise us again. Displaying his ‘old mans’ fighting spirit, but much better speed, he again broke into a mad sprint and battling neck and neck, just got ahead of his rival at the line to finish 3rd.
After his mum and dad had revived, we got the official results to nearly faint again when we found he had run 4.54! I may have to have a talk with him and impose some rules, that ‘thou shall not beat thy father’. He’s getting too close for comfort! The only disappointing thing for us was that he did not have a presentation, only received a certificate which did not even have his name written on to it, rather than a bronze medal.
Committee Meeting 8/07/02

Present : G. Cloke, M. Dennison, P. Wheeler, C. Wheeler, R. Francis, G. Mclaughlin.
Matters Arising.

1. Club Pentathlon. Event went well, supported mainly by youngsters. Seems there was no interest by seniors, therefore next years event will be for the juniors.
2. Nicky’s initiative with the ladies going very well, supported by 8-9 women. Franny reports that 14 ladies running in events this year.
3. Consistency league. Discussion over arrangements, will continue as it is this year then review for next season.
4. Amendment to Donkey Derby, thanks to Paul for helping. Made £70 this was given to ORC.

Treasurers Report

Income £492.60
Expenditure £152 67
Current £1022.50
Reserve £2178.24
Secretaries Report

UK Athletics sent an Accident & Incident report claim form. In case of injuries claim against club.
AOB

1. U.K. Athletics- cheque written but never cashed, Mark to cancel.
2. Headington 5 to be added to the consistency. Also dates for XC fixtures have arrived.
3. Keys cut for club number given out 6
4. New member Cathy Philo.
5. Southern League- Helpers are needed mainly for catering.

Date of next meeting 19/08/02 Meeting closed at 9.15 p.m.Southern League Track and Field fixture on Saturday 13th July from Geoff
The Village Club made the long trip to Battersea for their fourth Southern League Track and Field fixture on Saturday 13th July. On paper this looked a difficult fixture, against three of the top six teams, so fourth place was a realistic result. Highlights of the track events included fine doubles in the 5000metres from Jamie Jones and Mike Bliss, and from Keith Vallis and the hard working Darren Cuff in the Steeplechase. Chris Jones made a welcome return by gaining nine points in the ‘B’ string 800 and 400metres, whilst a rare appearance from Mark Simcox paid dividends with second place in the 1500metres in a season’s best time. Keith Clark, Danny Johnson, Dave Bush, and Dave Vosser covered the shorter distance events and were rewarded with a good points tally.
Danny Johnson took the lead in the Jumps, mainly supported by Richard Spreadbury, and Simon Morgan did likewise in the Throws supported by Darren Cuff, picking up valuable points to maintain the Club’s mid table position.
Results

 

 

Match Result
 

Southern Counties Veterans Track and Field League Portsmouth July 8th from Geoff
Moira and Liz represented Basingstoke in this event, and judging by the results had a very busy time. Moira won the F50 200metres in 32.00s, and the 800metres in 2m 55s, and came second in the long jump with a distance of 3.47m. Liz was second in the F50 5000metres in 21m 32s and second in the discus with a throw of 14.11m.
Winchester City Centre 5K Road Race, on Thursday evening July 18th from Geoff
A sizeable group competed in pleasant conditions over a course which was slightly altered to exclude the tight bends around the Cathedral. Ian Ford had a great run to finish in 21st place overall, and first in the Men’s over 40s category, just in front of Mark Simcox. Dave Vosser managed to break 18 minutes completing the course in 35th place and was followed by the in form Darren Cuff and Dave Bush who were 45th and 46th respectively. Richard Francis was a further minute down in 59th place, and Frank Kenny racing for the first time in literally years was 104th.
Jill Hills led home the Harrier’s Ladies contingent in 9th place followed by Audra Dennison in 13th spot and Liz Sandal-Ball who won the Ladies over 50s category. Moira West was runner up in the same category just one place ahead of Madeleine Vosser, with Belinda Lade 43rd and Cathy Philo 59th. This was Cathy’s last race with us for some time as she is soon to head off ‘Down Under’ for a prolonged visit.
Results

260 finished
Wedding Day 7Km race in Bushy Park July 26th from Geoff
Last Friday evening a smaller than usual flock of Harriers competed in this annual to celebrate the 21st anniversary of the marriage of Princess Diana to Prince Charles. The race is always well subscribed and attracts a quality field, which this year included Irish International Sonia O’Sullivan. The course is mainly on road and is fast and flat, and this combined with the recent hot weather made the conditions very tough indeed.
Mike Bliss got off to a fast start which he managed to maintain throughout the race to finish in 5th place overall in a time of 23m 47s to win the coveted Vets title for the second time. Ian Ford, also a previous winner in this category finished 13th overall, in 25m 29s and 5th Vet. Eric Tilbury was 109th in 30m 42s, and Geoff Cloke 163rd in 32m 49s, whilst the Ladies group was represented by Liz Sandall-Ball in 175th place in 33m 9s and Helen McMahon in 359th place in 39m 29s
Sonia O’Sullivan came 3rd overall easily winning the Ladies race in a new record time of 23minutes exactly.
About 500 took part

Thanks to Frank Kenny for the following item.
Overton Harriers – 300 something
As a former editor of the Harriers Newsletter I was asked if I would write an article for the 300^th edition of the newsletter. I thought about several topics that interested me but settled on this one. Hopefully, a different report from the normal race reports and results. I hope you enjoy it.
At the age of 39 I tripped into the Harriers because it was something I had always meant to do. That first night was October, cool and dark, and there were around 30 people running that evening. The thing that impressed me most was the friendly social nature of the changing rooms, the chat that occurred on the deep dark plunge down the Lynch and the general air that this was a social occasion more than anything else.
Several characters were already legend from Local paper reports and some of them I knew from my past for various reasons. The apprehension of running with these guys and gals fell away as cries of “CAR!” and “THIS SIDE!!” showed some of the fun side of running with a club, and the camaraderie that goes with it. The end of the run was followed by a never to be forgotten trip to the showers at the old Town Meadow. The slight smell of dampness and shampoo, sweat and deodorant were a pungent mix that became familiar as I continued my association with the club. More shouts of “DOOR!” and “COME ON YOU HAIRWASHERS!” and several others were obviously part of the tradition that was the Harriers. Despite the empty challenges as to individual’s performances both on the road and in the changing room the overall mood was one of real team spirit and an enjoyment of a shared pleasure, that of running.
For several years the habit of going to the club became a real focus of my week. Looking forward once a month to the Handicap and dreading that deep, dark plunge down the Lynch every alternate month. The sheer terror of running very hard downhill in the pitch dark, not knowing where any part of you was and praying to reach the light at the end of the tunnel before your ankles broke still causes comments to this day. I have no doubts that this will continue for the lifetime of the Village handicap course. Of course, the reason for running the handicaps was to give greater opportunity to discuss tactics, explain in advance what injuries would prevent a PB and which race at the weekend would give rise to an excuse not to run so hard. The truth was no one wanted to admit that whilst this was “only” a variation to the training routine it is still taken seriously. Morton Wells, now sadly departed, and whom I knew well always started at or near scratch time but always thought he could win the handicap. The trophy in his honour is well named as unlike any other running event it gave the slower runners a chance to improve and build some real confidence in a club event.
Several other events are part of the club tradition and each one of them needs to be tried. The Gibbet, the Cyclist’s race, the Christmas Handicap, the club pentathlon, the Southern Area relays at Farnborough, and so on. Some have come and gone, some have come and stayed, some have only recently started but they are all part of the fabric and soul of the club. Many family groups have formed the core of activities that the club undertakes, not only in the running but also in the social side of the club. Like the traditions new members come and go, old members continue to go on and some old ones come back.
The important thing is that the club is alive and well and continues to survive with its traditions despite the attraction of other activities. Running is purely a fun thing to do and very few sports will mix age and sex together in the same event . No matter what other sport you try there are very few in which you can participate that allow you to line up with the best in the world. Who can say they have played football with Matt Le Tissier, or played tennis with Tim Henman? No matter that they will beat you by a long way the fact that you can stand next to the elite athletes is a thrill in itself. Not many people get an opportunity to run alongside their former heroes. Mine was Bruce Tulloh and I can honestly say I did one year at the Woking 10, and got a PB on the same day! Bruce beat me by several minutes unfortunately!
Entering a new age grouping I now have an ideal opportunity to archive all my PB’s and set a whole new set. Now, instead of just times I think I will also grade the runs and races on the amount of pleasure I got on the day. As most of you know it’s better to be running slowly than not running at all so if you can measure that in some way it can help to keep the motivation. (Note to self “Talk to JT about this!”) The PB’s in terms of time can only diminish; the PB’s in terms of enjoyment can still improve.
In truth I missed coming to the Harriers and having been away from the club for a couple of years it was nice to come back for the Mob Match against Basingstoke. Several old faces still give the club a solidity and foundation. Several new faces show the club is still attracting people to the core values, fun and enjoyment of a simple basic activity. What was also good was that the traditions are still there, the calls of “Car” and “This Side” are still called. The hair washers don’t have so much to wash; the reasons not to run a PB are still as inventive as ever. I think that if Franny has an injury-free run then the apes will leave Gibraltar and the club will fall into severe decline.
Most importantly the social side of the club is still very much alive. The pleasure of running is greatly improved if you do it with other people. To do it with a great group of people makes it even better. Overton Harriers continues to thrive and to serve the running community very well. Here’s to the next 300 newsletters.
BOURTON 15 MILE 29.6.2002 from Mike Bliss
Only four harriers made the trip to the Cotswolds to this ‘you must experience it at least once’ race. As usual, the evening was warm and sunnybut without the stiffling temperatures of previous years. To inform those,that by chance have not heard about the race, although the race is 15 miles,it only has two hills. What partly makes the race special is that ‘the hill’
is about one and a half miles long, with much of it steep, that you climbtwice. The village of Bourton on the water, from which the race starts andfinishes and which is run through at the start, is picturesque and a lovelysetting for pre and post race activities. Such as quaint shops to strollaround, or a green, river and pubs, to relax on, in or outside. I broke away from a lead group of six up ‘the hill’ on the first lap and ran the remaining twelve miles on my own. I was therefore a bit surprised to seehow close the others were behind me at the finish, although, unusually forme (!), I did have to make a ‘pit stop’ at 11 miles. Mark seemed satisfiedwith his run, being two minutes quicker than last year, and being in a much better state afterwards. He even joined me in downing a pint or two of West Country cider, and still survived. Although I never saw Franny after the race, I still knew he had yet another ‘stormer’, as he gleefully sprinted past us towards the finish as we were walking back to the car, shouting and arms akimbo, that it was another massive PB. Just before writing this report, I happend to spot him doing a track session at Down Grange. Is he
pushing for a Southern League team spot? After successfully completing the Snowdonia Marathon twice, Jill could have been forgiven for declaring “Hill, what ****ing hill”. But to her credit, she did admit to noticing that there was a bit of an incline. She was hoping to break two hours and easily achieved that, so ensuring that all four of us had had good runs.
Results of the Bourton 15
1. Mike Bliss 1-24-47
17. Mark Simcox 1-36-45
38 Richard Francis 1-47-54
62 Jill Hills 1-56-59 (7 lady,4 W35)
Team Result
1. Woodstock Harriers 47 points
2. Tewksbury 53 points
3. Overton 56 points
NUTLY BOTTOM HANDICAP.
4^th JULY.W hat’s going on……I miss a handicap race and everyone goes potty. Sorry to John Hoare for leaving him with such a close pack of runners but it’s not every month that 13 runners decide to clock PB. Add to those 5 first timers and Jamie missing the course record by only three seconds, it must have been perfect conditions for running.
Congratulations to the first three home, Belinda, Karen and Cathy who all scored huge improvements, this only shows how much they are benefiting from running with the club. Interesting to note that Belinda and Cathy have a big lead in the handicap table but with their handicaps greatly reduced in the last race, any one of a dozen runners could sneak the title.
Jamie was fastest though Blissy in second also missed his PB by only 3 seconds. There was a tie for third between Voss and Keith with young Aaron in next, as he equalled his PB. The time league is a bit tighter with Jamie leading Mike by a point with Ian Ford leading the chasing pack. THE FINAL RACE IS ON 8^th AUGUST.

 
SALISBURY Fire Station 10 mile 14^th JULY from Franny
This is one of a series of races run from Salisbury that are getting quite popular. The course covers sections of the old Salisbury plain 15 that sadly disappeared several years ago. The opening stretch out of the city leads to the Avon Bridge where a left turn leads the field up the Woodford valley in the opposite direction to the old 15-mile race. After crossing the valley the course features a series of testing climbs before a fast two miles back to the finish.
With such a testing course the last thing required was good weather, unfortunately the day was a scorcher with hardly a cloud in the sky. Feeling good, I made a fairly fast start and settled in with a large group, which I dropped around halfway. I pushed myself on the climbs and spent the last two miles picking off runners who were struggling in the heat to finish in a time that was possibly worth a couple of minutes on a flatter course. Jill, who hadn’t done a long run since the Bourton 15, made a fast start and was only a few seconds down on me after the first mile. She was having a great run until stomach trouble struck just as she came back into the outskirts of the city. With nowhere to stop she had to slow down and lost one place in the ladies race to finish 5th overall. This was good enough for her to take home a well-deserved trophy for 1^st Vet35.

126 Finished.
Many thanks to JT for the following contribution:
THE NEWSLETTERS 300^th BIRTHDAY
 Members may have noticed that this is issue No. 300. To mark this momentous occasion, I have been asked to produce an article to reflect its importance to the club.
The first issue was produced by Keith Blakey in November 1976, two years after the club was established, and consisted of two sides of foolscap paper typed by myself on stencils and then duplicated.. There were no posey computers, web sites, dot coms or printouts in those unenlightened days! The purpose of the newsletter was to be a permanent record of all members and club achievements and also an organ to keep all members in touch with what was going on. Whether these ambitions have been fulfilled over 299 issues could be a matter of some debate. The first issue also covered such events as the junior pentathlon championships, Wessex and Hampshire cross-country leagues, the Master’s & Maidens Marathon and the Andover to Newbury relay.
The 50^th edition was heralded with great jubilations and congratulations from our chairman, so much so that some of the committee bought some beer!!! This issue consisted of 8 sides of closely typed content, with some quite long articles contributed by such luminaries as Phil Banning and Ian Byett, both of whom have gone on to be big cheeses in the world of British athletics. Other reports included one on the first London Marathon, where four club members out of a total of five got inside 2 hours 52 minutes, a competition, and a FULL list of the summer track & field programme. The bionic of the month was no other than a very young and sylphlike Richard Francis.
Our 100^th issue, by now consisting of 12 sides, still being typed and duplicated by myself and consisted of the first of five rather thoughtful diatribes from our club chairman, an article by Overton FCC’s Derek Davis and an amusing article of complete drivel from Michael Gregory who reminisced on the first of our epic Lands End to Overton relays where he was a supporting cyclist. This very expansive edition showed some tremendous results in competitions. The club pentathlon Championship had no less than 12 senior and 6 veteran men competing with Andy Hoare taking the senior title. Paul Wheeler ran 14m 56sec for 5000M in a southern league fixture at Reading and Dave Vosser 1m 59sec for 800M. Other reports included the Basingstoke 10miles (3 members under 58 mins) and the New Forest 10. Bionic of the month was awarded to John Hoare who had been editing the newsletter for much of it’s life and writing much of the content.
AND SO TO NO.150- HANDS UP ALL THOSE STILL AWAKE ! (December 1989)
In the intervening period, electricity had been invented, I obtained an electric typewriter and access to a photocopier and the production of the newsletter entered the 20^th century. This issue is quite remarkable because of the number of events covered with reports. Both Wessex and Hampshire xc leagues were in evidence with the latter recording that 18 men finished, a number of road races, the principle being the Klix “6” 10km when the club was represented by no less than 21 men and 4 ladies of which 17 men and 1 lady registered times of under 40 minutes. Also included was a plea from the lady members of the club for their husbands, boyfriends, etc. to be allowed home rather than being dragged into dens of iniquity after club outings.
Number 200 (February 1994) celebrated with an A4 booklet prepared by our president Keith Blakey, setting out many of the highlights of club life with contributions from Mike Gregory, Jane Sanger-Anderson, Paul Sanders and a roll of honour of members’ successes in county championships etc. Also published was No 200A which took the form of the traditional newsletter. During this month the results of two handicaps run in January were published, this was due to the December event being cancelled because of inclement weather, I believe that this was unique to the event.
The 250^th issue was in completely different format to previous landmarks, under new editorship and not in a form that met the approval of some traditionalists. Under this format Christian names were used instead of complete names which did not meet one of the original purposes of the club newsletter, stated at the beginning of this article. It is doubtful if the producers of issue 500 will know who “Steve” or “Greg” was in May1998. However this issue showed some excellent results, particularly in the southern league match at far distant Redruth, where a rather small squad travelled and multi-eventing was the order of the day. Not counting the relays, Rob Kingsborough (9 events), Alan Cornell (8) and Dave Vosser (5) were some of our heroes for a good third place.
One excellent feature of this issue was the committee meeting minutes, which have continued to recent editions. Credit for the last 50 or so editions of the newsletter goes to Geoff Cloke and Richard Francis using the posey facilities mentioned earlier. Happily the newsletter has progressed somewhat from No. 250 and settled down to a very readable organ…. (I do like that word)!!
Finally, I would like to thank everyone who has, in any way, contributed to the publishing of our newsletter and please keep the articles, results etc. coming, on which the editorial team so depends.
Best of luck for the next 300.
J. Thomas, Club President.