Malvern Joggers

Club News

Chris's Blog from 29 January 2012

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Membership Subscriptions
From our Secretary Geoff - One month into the New Year and we already have 119 paid up members this year - including 31 new members, of whom 16 are Juniors.
For those of you who have not got round to letting me have your sub, here's a reminder of the benefits of paying before the end of February:
Races run in the club League in Jan and Feb will be counted if you renew your membership by end Feb, otherwise only races run after you have paid your sub will count.
The club ballot for London Marathon places in 2013 will be restricted to those members who pay before end Feb.
This year we have 3 club places in the London Marathon. We only need a few more members than last year to be awarded 4 places for the 2013 event
Of course, you do not have to be a member to run with the club on Wednesday nights, but membership subscriptions are our major source of income and help us to be an active and supportive club for all our runners.
geoff.field@lineone.net

Summer Venues
The end of January is the deadline for submitting suggestions for summer running venues. We already have quite a list:
The New Inn (Lower Howsell Road), The Swan at Newland, The Brewers Arms - West Malvern, The Marlbank – Welland, The Three Horseshoes - Poolbrook, The Green Dragon - Guarlford Road
as well as our regulars ...
Gullet Quarry, British Camp, Hanley Castle, Hanley Swan, The Old Bush - Callow End, The Chase Inn - Colwall
The Drum and Monkey - Upton upon Severn
E-mail to geoff.field@lineone.net before Wednesday if you have any further suggestions

Malvern Joggers Website
Love the website? Got any ideas for improving it?
We are looking to set up a "user group" to help Peter Cowling develop and maintain the site. No technical knowledge is needed, but if there is anyone out there with web development experience, that would be a bonus.
If you want to be involved in a user group, let Geoff Field know, either by e-mail to geoff.field@lineone.net, or phone (01684 578652) or see him on Wednesday evening at the club run.

MJ Juniors News
From Andy Dickenson - Among the 29 MJs at at the chilly Worcester Parkrun on Saturday we had 10 MJ Juniors competing. A good effort from all resulted in some great runs and some senior scalps were claimed! Good to see that all the U11 MJs that ran with their parents were able to outsprint their parent in the run in to the funnel. They were also better at eating cake! Well done to all who competed. MJ Juniors will back at Parkrun in March.
We will be going to Glos XC League next Saturday at Tewkesbury School. First race is U11 Girls at 12.00, so if you are running please arrive from 11.30 in time to warm up. Full details are at
http://www.tewkesburyac.co.uk/Cross%20Country.html
Seniors can also run if anyone wants a race. It is only a few pounds to enter.
Finally, next Sunday will be our last this half term and there will be no MJ Juniors on 12th February.

Herefordshire Winter X-Country League Race 5 of 5 Presteigne 11.00 am Sunday 5 February 2012
From Jon Green - Yes, it's the final race of the winter x-country league next weekend. The race will be followed by a presentation ceremony of trophies and awards. Please let me know if you want to run. (The only requirement is that you're a club member and you need to wear club colours.) At Presteigne the men will run over the usual 6 or 7 miles and the ladies over about half that distance. There are some hilly bits and there will almost certainly be some mud (but nothing a MJ can't handle). By the way, over the 4 races so far 19 MJ men and 6 MJ ladies have competed and on average 10 MJ's have turned out for each race. Let's have a good turn out for the last race.
Regards Jonathan (079 7416 8577, green.jonathan@virgin.net

Has the Trophy turned-up yet?
Jon says .......I'm trying to locate the ladies x-country team trophy as it needs to go back next weekend!
If anyone knows its whereabouts or can remember anything about what happened to it after it came back to Malvern, please let me know.
Jonathan M 079 7416 8577 green.jonathan@virgin.net

Forthcoming Race
The Bulmer’s Bash 20/5/12 11am Hockham’s Lane, Wichenford, Worcestershire
This is an undulating 6.5 mile off-road hilly course around Bulmer’s orchards. Pre-entry advisable as numbers are limited.
It’s £8 for club members, £10 non-members. There will be entries on the day at £1 extra if there are places available. A medal will be given to all finishers.
Last run in 2010, this is one I did myself and it comes highly recommended.
The entry form is attached. Please print off and keep.

Parkrun
The Worcester Parkrun continues to be popular with the MJs with an unbelievable 29 of our runners including 10 MJ Juniors taking part in yesterday’s event.
In the words of Richard Ralphs from WP - Young guns from Malvern, you were impressive, thanks to all the volunteers too. Maybe you should have a full takeover one week and have a green parkrun.

From Mark Cooke - I have mapped the worcester parkrun on the nikeplus website so if any runners use nike plus and wish to add it to their runs they will find it under "worcester parkrun"
Train hard, live well and come out of every contest, stronger, wiser and ready for more.

Please Note .....
At MSJ it’s particularly important not to block the doors and to leave a clear way through for the other visitors.
Parking can also be in short supply at MSJ so we need to share transport there if possible. Thanks for your help with these points.
The Wednesday groups For safety and enjoyment we need to remind ourselves of a few things. Be realistic about which group you choose to run with so that groups are evenly matched but if groups are too large see if you can move to another to even up the group sizes. Group leaders, particularly in the faster groups, need to be more realistic about the pace we say we are going to run at, we often run significantly faster than we say. Having stated a pace we need to try to run closer to that speed. Everyone should be mindful of runners moving up a group and having to work hard. So please do plenty of mustering by running to the back of the group on a regular basis.
London marathon training is really getting underway and so far our list of London marathon runners includes :- Emma Gooderham, Ruth Johnstone, Julie Caseley, Megan Judge , Vikki Sivertsen, Jayne Ackroyd, Jo Tustin, Amanda Dawson, Tony Bennett, Graham Cramp, Andy Blannin, Paul Newman and Stuart Brown. Andy Scott is off to the Paris marathon the following weekend. Please e-mail stuart@malvernjoggers.co.uk with any additions and corrections.

Supported Charity for 2012
From Geoff Field - Following discussion at the A.G.M. the Committee is seeking nominations for charities to be supported by the club during 2012. The chosen charity(s) will receive a donation from the Malvern Joggers 10K race and other activities organised by the club. It will not affect individual club members fund-raising activities for their own favoured charities, nor will it preclude club fund-raising events for other charities (e.g. the Cop-a-Feel support at the Bath ½ marathon).
Members are requested to submit their nominations by e-mail to the secretary at geoff.field@lineone.net.
You may submit nominations for one local and/or one national charity. Each nomination should be supported by a brief (no more than 50 words) explanation of why you think the club should support the chosen charity. Nominations will be put to a vote of members and, depending on the response, one or two charities will be chosen as the Malvern Joggers charity for 2012.

Bath Half Marathon
From Grouty - A group of us from the Malvern Joggers are running at the Bath Half and fundraising for Coppafeel, a charity from which one of our members has benefitted directly. Coppafeel is on a mission to stamp out late detection and misdiagnosis of breast cancer by ensuring that we all (women AND men) know the signs and symptoms of breast cancer, know what boobs look and feel like normally, check our boobs regularly throughout our lifetime and have the confidence to seek medical referral if we detect any changes.
Our 'Malvern Joggers Nipple' team will wear the Coppafeel inflatable boobs, decorated bras or boob t-shirts. If you are running in the Bath Half and would like to join our team, we'd be thrilled. Just let me know and I'll add you to the team list. I think there are a few more already signed up, but if you could email me then I can be certain to get the list right. We are seeking sponsorship through our virginmoneygiving page below and will be organising a few fundraising events in the next few weeks, so watch this space for details of events and how you might like to be involved.
If you can't join in but would still like to sponsor us - we'd be really grateful....you can do so at www.virginmoneygiving.com/MalvernJoggersNipple
I will also have a sponsor form in my shop in Church Walk if you prefer not to donate online.
Thank you for any support you can give, of whatever size.
Email...... Sarahsgrout@aol.com

Malvern Joggers Walking Group
From Eric.... The next Club Walk (and pub lunch) will be on Sat 4th of February. This will be a repeat of our inaugural walk a few years ago.
Start from the CP at the bottom of the Cats Back, up onto the Black Mountains and follow Offa’s Dyke path round, back to the start-about 8 miles.
Then a short drive to the Bulls Head at Craswall for lunch(the landlord said he would open a new barrel of Butty for us as normally at this quiet time he only sells bottled).Choose from the Black Board Menu or if everyone is interested from the Group Menu but could be more expensive !
Approx 7.30 start from Malvern to ensure we are back to the Bulls Head by 1.00pm
If you are interested PLEASE let me know so that I can liaise numbers with the pub.
More details to follow, Eric
email ... elbromage@talktalk.net

MJs Champions League
Races selected for the competition up to the end of May are:-
5th February - Stourbridge Stagger 10 miles
12th February - Muddy Woody 6 miles
4th March - The Treat MT8 (Stourport)
11th March - Blackminster Half Marathon (Evesham)
1st April - Forest of Dean Half Marathon
15th April - Eastnor 7
13th May - Crowle 10k
20th May - Tewkesbury Half Marathon
Please enter well in advance as some of them fill up very quickly.

Marathon Talk - Spring Motivation www.marathontalk.comBy runners, for runners. A weekly podcast dedicated to keeping you on the inside track to successful...

Wed night leaders rota
From Jayne ..... If anyone would like to join the Wed night leaders rota, please e-mail me on jayne.ackroyd@mac.com> I would particularly welcome volunteers to lead the Relaxed 10 group, so if you regularly run in that group please consider if you could lead the occasional run. Very many thanks!

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Wed 1/2 Club Night – MSJ 7pm
Sat 4/2 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sat 4/2 MJs Walking Group – Black Mountains, Offa’s Dyke (elbromage@talktalk.net)
Sun 5/2 MJ Cross-Country, Presteigne
Sun 5/2 Stourbridge Stagger 10 (CL)
Sun 5/2 Mayhill Massacre
Sun 12/2 Muddy Woody 6 (CL)
Sun 12/2 Wyre Forest MT8
Sun 12/2 Dursley Dozen
Sun 19/2 Cotswold Marathon & 35 Miler
Sun 19/2 Mudrunner Icebreaker
Sun 4/3 Droitwich Half Marathon
Sun 4/3 Treat MT8 (Stourport) (CL)
Sun 11/3 Bath Half Marathon
Sun 11/3 Blackminster Half Marathon (Evesham) (CL)
Sun 1/4 Forest-of-Dean Half Marathon (CL)
Sun 1/4 Scenic 6 - Peopleton
Sun 15/4 Eastnor 7 (CL)
Sun 15/4 Worcester Half & Full Marathon
Sun 20/5 Bulmer’s Bash - Wichenford
Sun 29/4 Mudrunner Oblivion - Eastnor
Sun 13/5 Crowle 10K (CL)
Sun 20/5 Tewkesbury Half Marathon (CL)
Sun 20/5 Wye Valley Runners Summer 10K (Hereford)
CL = Champions League Event

MSJ
We are very pleased to run from Malvern St James Sports Centre during the winter. As well as a great place to meet, Malvern Joggers get:-
Free car parking, free hot showers and clean toilets, 10% discount in the shop if they are an MJ
No joining fee for membership and a 20% discount on the monthly fee for gym, classes and swimming pool
No joining fee for membership and a 20% discount on the monthly fee for swimming pool use
A range of classes open to MJ’s on a drop in basis
A warm bar with cheap bottled beers (not the other way round!)

Weekly Reminders
Please make sure you wear a fluorescent vest or Hi Viz top now that we are running at dusk. The club subsidises the cost of fluorescent vests, which you can get from Steve Roode for £2.
Mustering - run to the back of the group from time to time.
I send the Club News/Blog out in 3 emails as I only have capacity for 100 recipients on one email.
If you do a race, and I'm not doing it as well, please drop me a few lines to let me know how you got on.
If you are not on the emailing list & would like to be, or if you would like to unsubscribe, please let me know.
chris@malvernjoggers.co.uk
Please see the Risk Assessments on our website

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 22 January 2012

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Some Message from our Chairman Stuart.....

The last two Wednesdays we have had record turnouts at MSJ. We counted an amazing 121 runners turn up to run with us on the 11th of Jan. It’s fantastic to have such support for the club but large numbers do create some difficulties if we aren’t careful.

At MSJ it’s particularly important not to block the doors and to leave a clear way through for the other visitors.

Parking can also be in short supply at MSJ so we need to share transport there if possible. Thanks for your help with these points.

Many thanks to everyone who leads the Wednesday groups; without your help it would be chaos.
For safety and enjoyment we need to remind ourselves of a few things. Be realistic about which group you choose to run with so that groups are evenly matched but if groups are too large see if you can move to another to even up the group sizes. Group leaders, particularly in the faster groups, need to be more realistic about the pace we say we are going to run at, we often run significantly faster than we say. Having stated a pace we need to try to run closer to that speed. Everyone should be mindful of runners moving up a group and having to work hard. So please do plenty of mustering by running to the back of the group on a regular basis.

Summer Runs. We are keen to come up with a good list of venues this summer and would value your ideas for suitable places. So far we’ve only heard from 2 people. Geoff’s note later in the blog reminds you what we are looking for. Please send us your suggestions.

London marathon training is really getting underway now with just 13 weeks to race day. So far my list of London marathon runners includes :- Emma Gooderham, Ruth Johnstone, Julie Caseley, Megan Judge , Vikki Sivertsen, Jayne Ackroyd, Jo Tustin, Amanda Dawson, Tony Bennett, Graham Cramp, Andy Blannin, Paul Newman and me. Andy Scott is off to the Paris marathon the following weekend. Please e-mail stuart@malvernjoggers.co.uk with any additions and corrections.

St Richard’s Hospice are organising a Runners Information Evening on Thursday 26th January at 6pm at St Richard’s Hospice, Wildwood Drive, Worcester WR5 2QT. It covers information on fitness, training and nutrition tips. Phone 01905-763963 or e-mail pjones@strichards.org.uk to reserve your seat.

Race Reports
Threshold Events Winter Series Race 4 22nd Jan 2012 by Jayne Ackroyd
This Series of 5 races started in October and there is one per month. So today was race 4. Its described as 'one of the most challenging but beautiful races in the country', and was friendly and well organised. After the first 3-4k round the village, the climb begins. Its initially very steep, then eases off a little, but continues until close to 7k. I had a tactical powerwalk during the steepest part of the hill when I realised that running wasn't actually any faster than walking, but after this I just dug in and slogged up the hill. Apparently the views from the top were spectacular, but I didn't really notice! After 7k there were a couple of kilometres of fast, steep downhill which was pretty hard on the quads and then the last kilometre was slightly up hill again, and seemed to go on for ever, despite the encouragement from Ron! Eventually I made it to the finish in 53:41 and definitely knew I'd done a race! Vikki ran really well to finish second lady overall in 46:25. It was the slowest 10k I've done for quite a few years, but as I was 7th lady and won the FV45 age group prize I'm not complaining at all!
Thanks, Jayne
Blymill 10K 22/1/12 by Julie Caseley
Five Malvern Joggers travelled to Blymhill this morning for the second running of this 10k organised by Dudley Kingswinford Running Club with all proceeds going to the village hall fund. We were Jonathan, myself, Eric Bromage and Geoff and Jenny Field.
This was a multi terrain race but the flattest by far that I have ever taken part in!! Come on you Gentle Joggers - you can do it! The start is in a big field and everyone set off at a cracking pace until the first gate when those in the middle/to the back of the field had to take their turn to get through. This didn't take long but then it was a single track around a field so you could only go as fast as the runner in front which wasn't too bad as it made for a sensible, relaxing start. The marshalling was excellent with the majority of the course off road over farm tracks, open fields and through woods which was lovely. The gusty wind was a problem for some of the time but the last 1.5 km was a dash along a country lane with a tail wind to the finish in a field by the village hall. Congratulations to Jonathan for winning his age category.
Thanks, Julie
Blymill 10K 22/1/12 by Geoff Field
It’s not often I submit a race report and its not often I run a X-country race, but I felt honour-bound to run this one, as it was my fault that it appeared on this year's race calendar. When Julie first mentioned it as a possible, I thought it was the Shifnal 10K (Shifnal is only a few miles away from Blymhill and their race is next week). Anyway, I duly reported that several of us had done the race for the last couple of years and we would probably get a good turnout.
It was only when I logged on for the application form that I realised it was a different race and people who had sounded enthusiastic about it began to back away when they read how muddy and challenging last year's race was.
So, on the day, only five of us turned out for the run - Julie Caseley, Jonathon Green, Eric Bromage, myself and Jenny (under duress).
The journey wasn't bad - under an hour in spite of extensive road works - and the venue was easy enough to find. But when we got out of the car there was a strong wind blowing, which cut right through the fleeces we had prepared ourselves with in balmy Malvern. Fortunately Blymhill village hall is a very impressive new building with good facilities so we were able to shelter from the wind until we were led off on a 5 minute walk to the start - in a potato field.
Fortunately, it hadn't rained for a few days so the anticipated muddy conditions did not materialise and in fact the conditions underfoot were excellent - soft but firm - which I was pleased about because I am still recovering from knee injury. The course was pretty much all of-road, the first 2/3rd being across farmland and tracks, with the only problem being the biting wind which was directly into our faces across a couple of exposed fields. The last section was through woods, which provided welcome shelter from the wind and as the sun came out it was very pleasant indeed.
I finished in a time of 1:03:10, which I was happy about given the wind, a few stiles and my level of fitness and when everyone had finished it was back to the village hall for tea and cakes. We waited round for the prize-giving, which was a bit delayed, but were rewarded by Jonathon receiving the best in category or his 42:02. Out of a field of over 300, that was pretty good going.
Altogether a very pleasant mornings run, but whether it will be back in the League for next year is a different matter.
Thanks, Geoff
Gloucester Marathon & 50K, 22/1/12 by Stuart Brown
Today I went to Gloucester for their marathon and 50k race. The race included 3 undulating circuits for the marathon and four for the 50k. The organisation and marshalling were great, the weather was dry and overcast but quite blustery. Emma Gooderham was the first lady to finish the marathon in 2:49, Steve Roode 3:55, Sim Foreman 4:04 and Megs had to pull out with an injury. I had signed up for the 50k a month ago when it seemed like a good idea! It was hard, energy wasn’t the problem, I got through 1.5 litres of sports drink, four gels, a couple of salt tablets and a packet of crisps. The last 10 miles was really difficult, my legs were very stiff and tired and I had to walk-run most of it but managed just under 5hours. Now it’s back to a sensible marathon training regime if I can walk properly by Tuesday!
Thanks, Stuart

Parkrun News
Last weekend the 1,000,000th parkrun was undertaken and it happened at Worcester’s very own parkrun.
www.parkrun.org.uk and www.parkrun.org.uk/worcester/results/latestresults

From Marathons to Mud Running
Thanks to Paul Newman who spotted this on the BBC website.....
Marathon running has been booming for some time, triathlons have flourished recently and now people are flocking to gruelling assault courses. But how did recreational sport get so extreme?
It was once the case that a jog around the block was a respectable feat, but that's changed.
A half marathon, once the domain of the super fit, has now become rather tame. Today's barometer of fitness is becoming the triathlon and even this now has competition from Herculean assault courses that have competitors running through fire, mud and barbed wire.
But when did we become jaded with the usual forms of sport? When did recreational exercise become so extreme?
In his 1951 book A Question of Upbringing, Anthony Powell describes a boy who is laughed at by his school friends merely because he jogged to keep fit. He was, Powell writes, "known to go voluntarily for 'a run'". It seemed an odd notion at the time.
Now the boy's choice would be utterly commonplace and impressive feats of endurance go unremarked upon. There were 850 triathlon events in England, Scotland and Wales last year, 99 more than 2010.
The majority of those taking part were not elite athletes, but running laymen - albeit very good laymen.
I have been doing triathlons for years - I used to be able to sign up the week before, now it's up to a year before to make sure you get a space”
"It's addictive," says Paitra Sparkes from Birmingham. The 42-year-old children's nurse started competing in triathlons four years ago. Currently she is in training for the Rome marathon in March and she will happily run 14 miles on a Saturday morning as training. That or an open water swim.
"I went to the gym and I played squash, I did all the normal stuff, but I got bored," she says. "When you start doing something different and really pushing yourself you can't stop. You find out what you can really achieve."
Then there are those who go a stage further. By day Lloyd Smith is a clean-cut professional, but come the weekend and he can be found covered in mud, cycling down mountains and running through barbed wire and broken glass. While some go to the gym, Smith takes part in Tough Guy, dubbed "the safest most dangerous event in the world".
"There's underwater tunnelling where you have to completely submerge yourself in muddy water to swim through a small, dark tunnel," says the 32-year-old from Stratford-upon-Avon. "Then there's the suspended electric wires so you get electric shocks as you run. Then it's the broken glass, mud pools and fire to run through."
All this is done in the middle of winter, with this year's event taking place at the end of January.
"I do enjoy it. Usually," Smith says.
He's not unusual. He is one of a host of men and women, young and old, who complete these extreme challenges, all at a time when we are told that life is becoming more sedentary, that we are not doing enough sport.
"When you work hard and do long hours time becomes very precious," adds Smith. "When you go out and do exercise you really try to get the most from it."
Will Dean echoes this view. Two years ago he launched his Tough Mudder event, another gruelling assault course with the strapline, "probably the toughest event on the planet". It includes jumping into a skip filled with fluorescent green ice, dragging a log through mud and again, the electric shocks.
Dean, a 31-year-old Harvard Business School graduate, says: "There has been a big change in what fitness means to people, it's no longer simply about aerobic exercise or body building, the focus is on functional fitness.
"People spend a lot of time working so it is very difficult to commit to team games like football or rugby. Exercise can become very solitary and boring. The thing with Tough Mudder is that you can't get through it on your own, you need the people around you to help you, so it becomes a team game."
Extremer and extremer.....
Tough Guy: 25 obstacles over undulating course in mud and cold. There is a summer version for the less hardy
Iron Man: Extended triathlon - swim 2.4 miles, cycle 112 miles, run 26.2 miles
Tough Mudder: 10-12 mile obstacle course featuring mud, ice baths, barbed wire and electric shocks
Paras 10: 10-mile military training circuit with entrants needing a bergen (rucksack) weighing 35lb (16kg) and a pair of military boots
Brutal 10: Simply 10km cross-country race over hills, streams and undergrowth
Events like the Tough Guy and Tough Mudder are tightly controlled for safety reasons, but as with ordinary long-distance running there are injuries.
"We have had a few broken bones and a lot of hypothermia, but nothing serious, nothing that you wouldn't recover from," Dean says.
At this point, aficionados might point to the traditional sport of fell running. Speeding up a mountain, often requiring navigational skills as well as sure footing and incredible athleticism, sounds extreme.
There have long been fell runs, marathons and all-terrain racing, but the desire for extremes is growing across many sports.
Jodie Marsh transformed herself from a glamour model to a body builder, David Walliams swam the length of the Thames, Eddie Izzard ran a marathon a day, six days a week for seven weeks. There is a powerful idea of ordinary people doing unusual things.
Even people who only do one exercise session a week can prove their mettle by taking part in military boot camps, pole dancing lessons or cage fighting keep fit. One gym chain even offers the Warrior Workout - combat classes to music with fighting sticks.
But we are constantly faced with the idea that participation in sport is in decline. Since 2005, the proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds participating in sport at least once in the past four weeks has decreased, according to the Department for Sport. The latest Health Survey for England data shows us that nearly one in four adults is obese.
"I think we are becoming extreme in both directions," says sport psychologist Dr Victor Thompson. "Humans are essentially animals and animals are, by nature, lazy. But some people choose to do something about it.
"For years people will have been pushing themselves in their careers, but after a while you need a new challenge, another goal. They've been to the gym, they've done that, time for something new.
"I have been doing triathlons for years," he adds. "I used to be able to sign up the week before, now it's up to a year before to make sure you get a space."
Just as running to keep fit was once considered bizarre, maybe mud running will one day seem prosaic. The search for more extreme sport will continue.

Race News from the Wye Valley Runners
Just to let you all know we will be organising a new 10 mile road race this year from the Hereford Rowing Club on Sunday 9th September.
The date for the Wye Valley Summer 10k is Sunday May 20th. .
Gord's 6 will be run on Saturday 30th June.

Free online resource for injured runners .........
My name is Gavin Burt, I’m a club runner with the Serpentine and the Mornington Chasers running clubs, and I run a sports injury clinic in North London, Backs and Beyond (www.backsandbeyond.co.uk). I specialise in running injuries and have recently set up a free online resource for injured runners called the www.runninginjuryoracle.com which I thought might be of interest to you and your club members.
Just as a brief introduction, the www.runninginjuryoracle.com is an online service that gives injured runners the advice they need to get back on their feet. It helps them figure out what their injury is and then offers expert instructions and videos tailored to their specific injury that will aid their recovery.? The www.runninginjuryoracle.com is featured on the serpentine running club’s website (http://www.serpentine.org.uk/pages/advice_health.html), and has been used by Runners World for their injury pages.
I personally created all the content and recovery plans based on my 15 years’ experience as a runner's Osteopath treating the numerous injuries that plague all of us.? It’s a website where injured runners can quickly and easily get accurate, professional advice that they could trust and that would help get them on the road to recovery, whether they are just starting out or have been running for years. Runners can access the site and all its content absolutely free of charge.
I have attached a flow diagram that shows you exactly how the site works. Please feel free to try it out before recommending it to your runners!
I hope you will see the www.runninginjuryoracle.com as a useful tool for your runners and that you will share it with them either on your website or in your regular newsletters. If you do decide to have a link on your website, I have attached a thumbnail for you to use that will make it easily visible to those visiting your site.
Many thanks for your time and consideration, and of course if you have any questions please do call me on the number below, or email me at gavinburt@hotmail.com.
Gavin Burt, registered osteopath, Clinic Director, Backs & Beyond Ltd, 020 7284 4664

Charity Races
KidsCan Children’s Cancer Research Centre would like to let your organisation know that we are offering FREE places in the following runs.
The Greater Manchester Marathon – Sunday 29th April If you have not been successful in the ballot for the London Marathon, this is a great alternative, without the price tag!
The Great Manchester Run – Sunday 20th May The most popular 10Km run in Europe!
The Great North Run – Sunday 16th September Arguably the biggest half marathon event in the world!
How do you take part?
Instead of charging runners to take part in these events, we ask for a £60 refundable deposit cheque.
The cheque is only needed to cover the cost of your place if are not able to run, or cannot raise your sponsorship target. It is not cashed or banked until that point.
There is a different sponsorship target for each run, but as ever we will supply our participants with:
A KidsCan Vest to run and train in – T-shirt for GMR
A JustGiving online sponsor website
Personalised sponsor forms
If you would prefer to make your own JustGiving page, please feel free.
If you know of anyone who is looking for a place in any of this year's runs, please forward this e-mail to them.
Click the BOOK NOW Link and fill in your details. I will be in touch with what to do next so we can get you signed, up and running as part of Team KidsCan!
Thank you for your time.

Worcester Half Marathon
Sign up now for this new event on Sunday, 15th April. Starting and finishing at Worcester Warriors Rugby Ground, Sixways, runners will race around some beautiful rural villages. St Richard's is the chosen charity partner for the event. To book your place call Sara Fernie on 01905 763963 or email sfernie@strichards.org.uk

Summer Running Venues
From our Secretary Geoff - Now the New Year is well and truly under way it is time to think about choosing our running venues for next summer. In all we want 5 venues (one for each Wednesday of the month, plus an extra venue for months with 5 Wednesdays).
Reflecting comments at the A.G.M. your committee is looking for nominations for venues. We are looking for some new locations in addition to the tried and tested ones that we all love so much.
Please send any suggestions for new venues to me at geoff.field@lineone.net. Venues should meet some fairly stringent criteria, i.e.
Adequate parking, preferably off-road
A good range of running routes to cater for all levels of ability
Proximity to a pub suitable for post-run social activity
Suggestions should be submitted by the end of January. The committee will then vet venues for suitability before publishing a list which will be put to a vote by club members. The committee will publish the final list in early March.

Malvern Joggers Walking Group
From Eric.... We have suggested Sat 4 Feb. for the next Club Walk (and pub lunch) This will be a repeat of our inaugural walk a few years ago.
Start from the CP at the bottom of the Cats Back, up onto the Black Mountains and follow Offa’s Dyke path round, back to the start-about 8 miles.
Then a short drive to the Bulls Head at Craswall for lunch(the landlord said he would open a new barrel of Butty for us as normally at this quiet time he only sells bottled).Choose from the Black Board Menu or if everyone is interested from the Group Menu but could be more expensive !
Approx 7.30 start from Malvern to ensure we are back to the Bulls Head by 1.00pm
If you are interested PLEASE let me know so that I can liaise numbers with the pub.
More details to follow, Eric
email ... elbromage@talktalk.net

Bath Half Marathon Transport
Val Tuckley’s Magic Bus Update - Hello, I have one possibly two seats left on the coach to Bath half Marathon on the 11th of March. The cost is £7.50 including a packed lunch for our homeward journey. Please let me know if you’re interested. Email ... val.tuckley@btinternet.com

MJ Juniors - Occasional Volunteers Wanted
From Andy Dickenson - If you are able to spare an hour occasionally on a Sunday morning to be a volunteer helper to assist in organisation, under direction of one of the leaders, please read on.
We could do with some more CRB checked volunteers. The process will involve a phone call, a form and an identity check. It is free for volunteers so will only cost you a bit of time.
If you can help please carry out the CRB check as follows:
1 Call CRB on 0870 909 0844
2. The registered body you are applying to is UK Athletics, registered number 22525500000, your position is Volunteer Junior Helper. You are working in a volunteer capacity and there will be no charge. Your club of course is Malvern Joggers.
3 CRB will send you a form to fill in. Do this!
4. Take the form and 3 forms of id to Geoff Field who will sign off the last part of the form.
It really isn''t that bad! You can offer as little as you like. What we need though is a pool of volunteers we can call upon to assist when we might be otherwise shorthanded.
Any questions please ask please ask - dickensons@btinternet.com

Membership Renewal
From our Secretary Geoff - The club year started on 1 January, so membership is due for renewal. Membership fees remain as last year, i.e. full membership £15:00 for the whole year.
A new membership form for 2012 is attached - this just adds a couple of questions about Nationality and Birthplace, which are required by UK Athletics. Also, if you are not a 1st claim member of Malvern Joggers, it asks for the name of your 1st claim club (Club of Origin)
Also new for this year is the option to pay your membership fees by standing order, saving you the trouble of sending cash or cheques. If you would like to pay by standing order please complete the attached mandate and return it to me (NB do not send it to your bank). The default payment date is 1st February, but if you want to specify a different date for the first year, please do so in the box provided. The reference is your UKA reference number, but if you leave it blank I will fill it in for you before sending the mandate to the bank.
Remember, renewing your membership is not only good for the club, but not doing so before the end of February has a couple of consequences:
Races entered before you have renewed your membership will not count towards your position in the Club League Table
If you have not renewed by end February you will not be eligible to enter the draw for club places for the 2013 London Marathon
I look forward to receiving your membership renewal.
Membership and Standing Order mandate attached
Email ..... geoff.field@lineone.net

Herefordshire Winter X-Country League
From Jon - I hope we can have a full turn out for the last race in the New Year which is .....
Race 5 - 5 February 2012 Presteigne
Regards, Jonathan Green Mob 079 7416 8577

Marathon Talk - Spring Motivation www.marathontalk.comBy runners, for runners. A weekly podcast dedicated to keeping you on the inside track to successful...

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Wed 25/1 Club Night – MSJ 7pm
Sat 28/1 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sat 4/2 MJs Walking Group – Black Mountains, Offa’s Dyke (elbromage@talktalk.net)
Sun 5/2 MJ Cross-Country, Presteigne
Sun 5/2 Stourbridge Stagger 10 (CL)
Sun 5/2 Mayhill Massacre
Sun 12/2 Muddy Woody 6 (CL)
Sun 12/2 Wyre Forest MT8
Sun 12/2 Dursley Dozen
Sun 19/2 Cotswold Marathon & 35 Miler
Sun 19/2 Mudrunner Icebreaker
Sun 4/3 Droitwich Half Marathon
Sun 4/3 Treat MT8 (Stourport) (CL)
Sun 11/3 Bath Half Marathon
Sun 11/3 Blackminster Half Marathon (Evesham) (CL)
Sun 1/4 Forest-of-Dean Half Marathon (CL)
Sun 1/4 Scenic 6 - Peopleton
Sun 15/4 Eastnor 7 (CL)
Sun 15/4 Worcester Half & Full Marathon
Sun 29/4 Mudrunner Oblivion - Eastnor
Sun 13/5 Crowle 10K (CL)
Sun 20/5 Tewkesbury Half Marathon (CL)
Sun 20/5 Wye Valley Runners Summer 10K (Hereford)
CL = Champions League Event

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 15 January 2012

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Bath Half Marathon Transport
Val Tuckley’s Magic Bus Update - Thank you to everyone who has paid for the Coach to the Bath Half Marathon.
If you have NOT, can I ask you all please to ensure its done by the 18th January.
The cost of this transport has been determined on the coach being full, I have a waiting list now so therefore please make your payment to ensure your seat is secured. Email ... val.tuckley@btinternet.com

Mudrunner Oblivion - 29th April 2012, Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire
On Wednesday night before the club run we will be doing the draw for the 3 FREE club places in The Mudrunner Oblivion event, Mudrunner kindly gave us free places for last years Oblivion event but they neglected to tell us that we could have had 3 free places for the last Mudrunner as well. Therefore if you are a club member and fancy doing Oblivion and have never done a Mudrunner event before OR entered Mudrunner last year for the 1st time and fancy a place please let me know before Wednesday and I will put you in the draw...So far in the draw are
Amanda Duncan, Sharon White, Claire Gilbert, Debbie Russell, Ian Laydon, Neil Humpage, Andy Gallagher, Caroline Saunders, David Brett and Jenni Neil.
Good Luck Guys !!

MJs Champions League
Races selected for the competition up to the end of May are:-
22nd January - Blymill 10k, Shifnal, Shropshire
5th February - Stourbridge Stagger 10 miles
12th February - Muddy Woody 6 miles
4th March - The Treat MT8 (Stourport)
11th March - Blackminster Half Marathon (Evesham)
1st April - Forest of Dean Half Marathon
15th April - Eastnor 7
13th May - Crowle 10k
20th May - Tewkesbury Half Marathon
Please enter well in advance as some of them fill up very quickly.

Tuesday Speed
From Jayne A - Sorry to have to say that Tues speed is now FULL! For safety reasons I have to keep the numbers manageable, and we've reached the limit. So future sessions will be restricted to just those who've been to either or both of the first two sessions.

Race Reports
Not the Roman IX - Stratford AC - 11.00am 15/1/2012 by Jayne Ackroyd
This is such a top race I can see why it typically sells out early! I think I was the only Jogger there today, but having done it last year, I couldn't resist going back for another go. Its 12k, chip timed and really well organised. It’s all on road, but generally not busy ones, and it was such a beautiful day today it was a real pleasure to be there. All the uphill is in the first 6k, so once you've made it to half way its pretty much a long run down to the fast finish. I didn't quite break the hour last year, but today I was pleased to finish in 58:29ish, despite having to gingerly mince over a few icy patches. And I'll definitely be back next year, hopefully with a few more Joggers to keep me company!
Thanks, Jayne

Parkrun News
Saturday’s Parkrun featured 12 MJs, possibly the most yet in any one park run. To date 59 MJs have done at least one Parkrun.
See www.parkrun.org.uk and www.parkrun.org.uk/worcester/results/latestresults

Forthcoming Events - Pendine Sands Races, 8th April 2012
Steve Worrallo who started the Malvern Ultra two years ago is organising another interesting event that may fit in with those of us who are doing the London Marathon on 22nd April.
Steve writes - "New to the Ultra Running events calendar is the unique and picturesque Pendine Sands Races, 8th April 2012. We have the fastest mile (fun event) with signed certificates from the Bluebird Trust, a 16 mile half marathon and a 32 mile ultra which can be entered in as relay teams. see more on www.ultrarunning.uk.com"
2012 San Domenico 20 Miler - Sunday 25th March 2012 10AM
From the organiser’s .... Your members who are doing a spring marathon may be interested in entering our 20 mile road race that is four weeks prior to the London Marathon.
In the last 5 years we have had entries from as far away as Yorkshire, London, Devon and Edinburgh. The 2011 race was a record for us with 342 entrants, so we are working hard to make the 2012 race even better. As in previous years we intend the race memento to be a technical wicking t-shirt, as well as providing gels and sports drinks at key water stations.
We would be grateful if you could circulate the race information to your members and we look forward to seeing some of your club members there.
Race website: www.sd20.org.uk
How to enter: By post, Using the attached postal entry form (178Kb PDF) - no need for SAE as race numbers are to be picked up on the day or online at http://www.fabian4.co.uk/default.aspx?EventID=609
Best regards, Ian, Race Director, San Domenico Road Runners www.sandomenico.org.uk www.sd20.org.uk

LM Charity Appeal
From the ‘The Outward Bound Trust’..... One of our biggest fundraising events is the London Marathon. I was wondering if anyone in the club would be interested in running in the London Marathon for us. As a Virgin London Marathon charity we have been allocated a large number of places some of which are still available. In return for their commitment, each runner will be sent a running vests, training guides, fundraising tips and advice on diet and nutrition. After the race itself, we invite runners and their supporters to a well-earned post race reception and treat them to a complimentary massage. ( You can visit www.outwardboundtrust.org.uk/marathon for marathon details.)
The Outward Bound Trust is an educational charity that aims to unlock the potential in young people through discovery and adventure in the wild. The funds that we raise allow as many young people as possible to have the opportunity to engage in adventurous experiences through which they can raise their self-esteem, realise their full potential and achieve more than they ever thought possible. For more information on us you can go to www.outwardbound.org.uk.
If anyone would be interested in running for us could you please have them send an email to marathon@outwardbound.org.uk (it is a regularly monitored email account so we will respond to everyone!) or if we could send you some flyers that you could put out for your members to see please let me know. Thank you,
Kelsey Mattson, Research Coordinator, The Outward Bound Trust, 4th Floor, 207 Waterloo Road, London, SE1 8XD
Tel: 020 3301 6481 www.outwardbound.org.uk

Marathon Talk - Spring Motivation www.marathontalk.comBy runners, for runners. A weekly podcast dedicated to keeping you on the inside track to successful...

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Wed 18/1 Club Night – MSJ 7pm
Sat 21/1 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sun 22/1 Gloucester Marathon & 50K
Sun 22/1 Blymill 10k, Shifnal, Shropshire (CL)
Sat 4/2 MJs Walking Group – Black Mountains, Offa’s Dyke (elbromage@talktalk.net)
Sun 5/2 MJ Cross-Country, Presteigne
Sun 5/2 Stourbridge Stagger 10 (CL)
Sun 5/2 Mayhill Massacre
Sun 12/2 The Muddy Woody 6 (CL)
Sun 12/2 Wyre Forest MT8
Sun 12/2 Dursley Dozen
Sun 19/2 Cotswold Marathon & 35 Miler
Sun 19/2 Mudrunner Icebreaker
Sun 4/3 Droitwich Half Marathon
Sun 4/3 The Treat MT8 (Stourport) (CL)
Sun 11/3 Bath Half Marathon
Sun 11/3 Blackminster Half Marathon (Evesham) (CL)
Sun 1/4 Forest-of-Dean Half Marathon (CL)
Sun 15/4 Eastnor 7 (CL)
Sun 15/4 Worcester Half & Full Marathon
Sun 29/4 Mudrunner Oblivion - Eastnor
Sun 13/5 Crowle 10K (CL)
Sun 20/5 Tewkesbury Half Marathon (CL)
Note CL = Champions League Event

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 08 January 2012

Dear Runners and Joggers,

MJ Juniors - Occasional Volunteers Wanted
From Andy Dickenson - We had 20 Juniors today at MSJ with a group of over-12's off site and U12's at MSJ, so we are truly up and running. If you are able to spare an hour occasionally on a Sunday morning to be a volunteer helper to assist in organisation, under direction of one of the leaders, please read on.
We could do with some more CRB checked volunteers. The process will involve a phone call, a form and an identity check. It is free for volunteers so will only cost you a bit of time.
If you can help please carry out the CRB check as follows:
1 Call CRB on 0870 909 0844
2. The registered body you are applying to is UK Athletics, registered number 22525500000, your position is Volunteer Junior Helper. You are working in a volunteer capacity and there will be no charge. Your club of course is Malvern Joggers.
3 CRB will send you a form to fill in. Do this!
4. Take the form and 3 forms of id to Geoff Field who will sign off the last part of the form.
It really isn''t that bad! You can offer as little as you like. What we need though is a pool of volunteers we can call upon to assist when we might be otherwise shorthanded.
Any questions please ask please ask - dickensons@btinternet.com

Mudrunner Oblivion - 29th April 2012, Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire
Paul Sundance Newman requests the pleasure of your company in this one, as follows .....This year we have had a lot of interest in MJ's looking to compete in Mud Runner Oblivion in April.
Mud Runner have introduced a discount for teams of any size, so rather than pay £27.50 each as a team you guys pay £25, checkout www.mudrunner.co.uk.
PLUS !!! The Malvern Joggers have 3 FREE PLACES TO GIVE AWAY !! So 3 lucky MJ's who have never competed in a Mud Runner event can enter our free ballot ! If you fancy entering for a free place please see either Stuart or myself.
Adidas Thunder 24 relay www.tr24.co.uk
It looks like we should have about 5 teams competing in this brilliant event,
2 teams of 5, Tabby's Tigers and The Roode Boys team
Plus one fast team and two other mixed teams of 8.
Last year I paid for everyone up front then collected chqs afterwards, unfortunately because of the amount of people looking to enter I can't do it that way this year. So this is how I am looking to do it.
If you would like me to enter your team on your behalf please let me have a chq made out to Pro Velo Support when I have collected enough chqs for a full team I will forward them on. If you are looking to be in a team of 8, the cost of the whole weekend including camping for all the family works out at £29.38 per runner, a team of 5 works out at £45 each. I have one team nearly complete and ready to register so then I will be looking to register the next. We can juggle with who is in which team at a later date.
Cheers, Paul paul@newman8840.fslife.co.uk

Bath Half Marathon
Val Tuckley’s magic bus..... I am in the process of organizing a bus to take people to the Bath Half Marathon on the 11th of March. To date I have 25 seats taken.
If anyone else is interested please call me on 07929515844 to secure a place.

Crowle 10K – Sunday 13/5/12
If you did this one last year you may already have received this message but if you didn’t....
As a supporter of previous year’s events I thought that you would appreciate advance notification that entry for this years Crowle 10K, which will take place on Sunday 13 May 2012, is now open. Apologies if you have received this email more than once, but we have multiple mail groups on which you may be duplicated.
2012 is our tenth anniversary year and so we do hope that you will once again be able to support our event.
For the first time this year entry is available on-line through our website. Alternatively entry can still be made by post. In view of the anticipated demand for places, early advance entry is strongly advised. However, on the day entry will still be available.
Full entry details are available at www.crowle-online.co.uk
We will once again be using the services of Split Second Timing. This worked exceptionally well last year and we expect once again that full race results will be available very quickly after the last runner has crossed the finish line.
The course will follow the same scenic route as in previous years. The two Fun Runs will start at 10.30am with the main 10K race starting at 11.30am. This has become a great family event and as before there will be a children's entertainment area and a Barbecue as well as tea and cakes.
We look forward to welcoming you on the day.

Race Reports
Fladbury Festive 5 and Gloucester Cross Country County Championships
By Emma Gooderham - I've been busy already this year with two races. The first was my local race the Fladbury 5.5, which according to my garmin was actually 5.64. This was a super race helped by the lovely sunny weather, the free hot drink and cake afterwards and the super race HQ which even had the Simpsons running to allieviate pre race nerves. The course which was largely off road was lovely following the river bank, and is my regular running jaunt. I actually ran to this race from home as it was only a mile and a half from my front door. This race is well worth going to as a good start to the year and is becoming quite popular. I finished first lady and about 7th overall. Two other MJ's were also there as far as I could see.
The other race was the Gloucester Cross Country County Championships, and as I was born in Gloucester (Cheltenham) was eligible to get this title and did! the race was held in the fields surrounding Plock Court Tennis centre, which is a huge indoor venue and super for cake and hot drinks after the race. Again the weather was kind and the 6km race of 2 laps of a field was not that challenging bearing in mind I am used to the Hereford XC league where flat doesn't happen. I did have some good competition, but managed to get ahead on the second lap to win overall in a time of 21.53. I have now qualified to represent Gloucestershire in the intercounties XC race in Birmingham on the 10th of March
Thanks, Emma
Herefordshire Winter X-Country League - Race 4 Monkhall Farm Sunday 8 January 2012
From Jon Green - Seven MJs made the 45 minute trip to this race just south of Hereford. The course was pretty much unchanged from last year except that there was more mud and somebody had fiendishly decided to transform the simple stream crossing into a water dip about 0.5m deep and 6m wide. As Nigel will confirm, it was quite big enough for a swim. We all 'enjoyed' the race and had (we think) four MJs in the top 16 finishers. First MJ home was John Bristow very closely followed by Sam Burnage, then Andy Blannin, me, Nigel Sewell, Ian Dyson and Stuart Brown. The final league race and presentation of trophies is Sunday 5 February 2012 at Presteigne. All MJs are welcome to run.
Regards, Jonathan Green Tel. 079 7416 8577
Thanks, Jon

Forthcoming Race
SMaRTT Smasher 10k - Sunday 19th February 2012
From the organiser’s - Calne SMaRTT are hosting the SMaRTT Smasher 10k race on Sunday 19th February 2012, starting at 11am.
The course is a fast flat multi-terrain run along the picturesque national cycle network trail. We are also doing a 1 mile fun run for the children.
I have attached the entry form for your information and would be extremely grateful if you could forward onto your club members. For further information, please visit our website www.calnesmartt.co.uk
Thank you very much for your help and hope to see you on the day.
Jo Gill, Calne SMaRTT, Club Secretary

Parkrun News
From Paul Newman – Myself, Anne Dendy, Cathy Spence, Vikki, Crampy all went to Parkrun this morning and picked up the gold trophy for our Parkrun team prize !! Well Done MJ's! good to see former MJ Guy Little there this morning also.
From the organiser’s - Race stats are up 30 first timers, brilliant to see you, and hope you enjoyed your first Worcester parkrun. If you want to volunteer for next week let us know at worcesteroffice@parkrun.com.
See www.parkrun.org.uk and www.parkrun.org.uk/worcester/results/latestresults

Fancy a Dip?
From Monica who is a swimming coach at MSJ - I have recently started a Swim Fit session at the pool on Tuesday nights from 8.15-9.15 at a cost of £6.00. It is ideal for adding a boost to swimming fitness, for anyone who wants stroke coaching and perfect for any triathletes. I would be grateful if you could spread the word among your members (it is open to MSJ members and non-members)? For more info please direct any joggers to MSJ reception.
Many thanks for your time, Monica
MSJ Sports & Fitness Centre, 33 Barnards Green Road, Great Malvern, Worcestershire, WR14 3LH, Tel: 01684584638
info@msjsports.co.uk www.msjsports.co.uk

Droitwich Half Marathon 4/3/12
Anyone fancy a go at this one? good spring marathon training, assuming there are still places available. It’s best to check first. The details are on the Droitwich AC website. I have received the following message from the organiser’s so if you want to know what it’s like beforehand you can watch the video....
I have updated the Half Marathon video clip on YouTube which lasts 7:20 minutes.
It gives a flavour of the route and shows the various road junctions and mileage at each stage.
To access the video, log onto YouTube www.youtube.com
In the search box enter ' 2012 Droitwich Half Marathon '
If it doesn't come up on the search engine, it will find last year’s video "Droitwich Half Marathon".
However, click on the button "2 videos" and you should see the second video for 2012.
I will be sending out final instructions and numbers towards the end of January.
Regards, Martin Smith, Droitwich AC

Hill Reps – with Clare Hill
6.30pm at link top. 5 x 3mins up, build up slowly for London Marathon and anyone planning a different Full or Half Marathon.

Membership Renewal
From our Secretary Geoff - The club year starts again on 1 January, so membership is due for renewal. Membership fees remain as last year, i.e. full membership £15:00 for the whole year.
A new membership form for 2012 is attached - this just adds a couple of questions about Nationality and Birthplace, which are required by UK Athletics. Also, if you are not a 1st claim member of Malvern Joggers, it asks for the name of your 1st claim club (Club of Origin)
Also new for this year is the option to pay your membership fees by standing order, saving you the trouble of sending cash or cheques. If you would like to pay by standing order please complete the attached mandate and return it to me (NB do not send it to your bank). The default payment date is 1st February, but if you want to specify a different date for the first year, please do so in the box provided. The reference is your UKA reference number, but if you leave it blank I will fill it in for you before sending the mandate to the bank.
Remember, renewing your membership is not only good for the club, but not doing so before the end of February has a couple of consequences:
Races entered before you have renewed your membership will not count towards your position in the Club League Table
If you have not renewed by end February you will not be eligible to enter the draw for club places for the 2013 London Marathon
I look forward to receiving your membership renewal.
Membership and Standing Order mandate attached
Email ..... geoff.field@lineone.net

MJs Champions League
The next three races are:-
22 January Blymill 10k, Shifnal, Shropshire
5 February Stourbridge Stagger 10 miles
12 February The Muddy Woody 6 miles
Please enter races well in advance as some of them fill up very quickly.

Marathon Talk - Spring Motivation www.marathontalk.comBy runners, for runners. A weekly podcast dedicated to keeping you on the inside track to successful...

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Wed 11/1 Club Night – MSJ 7pm
Sat 14/1 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sun 15/1 Not the Roman IX - Stratford
Sun 22/1 Gloucester Marathon & 50K
Sun 22/1 Blymill 10k, Shifnal, Shropshire (CL)
Sun 5/2 MJ Cross-Country, Presteigne
Sun 5/2 Stourbridge Stagger 10 (CL)
Sun 5/2 Mayhill Massacre
Sun 12/2 The Muddy Woody 6 (CL)
Sun 12/2 Wyre Forest MT8
Sun 12/2 Dursley Dozen
Sun 19/2 Cotswold Marathon & 35 Miler
Sun 19/2 Mudrunner Icebreaker
Sun 4/3 Droitwich Half Marathon
Sun 11/3 Bath Half Marathon
Sun 15/4 Worcester Half & Full Marathon
Sun 29/4 Mudrunner Oblivion - Eastnor
Sun 13/5 Crowle 10K
Note CL = Champions League Event

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 01 January 2012

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Some messages from our Chairman Stuart .....
Happy New Year everyone. We had a good turnout for the Hereford 10k this morning, I wasn’t able to stay for the prize giving but with luck someone else has added a note for the blog.
I understand That Malvern Joggers finished the 2011 Worcester parkrun series on Saturday as the club with the most runners.
CIRCUITS. Please note that we have decided to cancel the remaining Thursday circuit sessions at MSJ that were planned for the rest of the winter. While those that attended were very enthusiastic, numbers have been too low to make it viable to continue. It looks as if we had chosen the wrong day or time so we’ll try and canvass opinion and see if there is more support next winter.
Happy Running, Stuart

Parkrun
Malvern Joggers where everywhere at the Worcester Parkrun on New Year’s Eve with 23 MJs taking part out of a total 109 runners. 55 MJs now done at least one parkrun
See www.parkrun.org.uk and www.parkrun.org.uk/worcester/results/latestresults

Race Reports
New Years Day 10K, 1/1/12 by Chris Barker
When I set off I thought this race seemed familiar, no wonder, I didn’t know it at the time but I’ve since found that I’ve done everyone since 2003 (10 in total). I’ve also done the summer version which is the same course in reverse. Alas no special award was forthcoming from the organiser’s. I peaked in 2007 with a 46-16, so, no chance of beating that this year then again who knows. Who would have thought that Blackburn Rovers would have beaten Man U. at Old Trafford on Saturday (good!). No giant killing act from me as I came home in my customary spot which is around 2/3rds of the way from the front. But at least I beat my effort of last year by about one minute.
The results show 19 (I think) MJs running with Ruth Johnstone, Stuart Brown and Barry Swindells collecting race prizes for the MJs. There were 218 runners in total in a race which starts and finishes alongside the River Wye. It’s probably not a PB course because of its undulating nature but a good workout at the start of the New Year.

Forthcoming Races
The organisers of the following results have been in touch .....
BLAKEDOWN BOLT 2012 - Friday 22nd June at 7.15pm.
The Blakedown Bolt is now open for entries - please go to www.churchillvillage.co.uk click on the 'Blakedown Bolt 2012 announced' line and you'll get straight through to our information page, from where you can download an entry form. The Bolt is listed on www.runnersworld.co.uk although currently it appears that it is only viewable if you're a magazine subscriber. We're attempting to get this glitch fixed, but their office is closed until the 4th January. Once it's sorted out, you will be able to enter online via their website. Please note that runnersworld.co.uk charge a fee for their services on top of the regular entry fee.
This is our 6th annual event, and once again we expect we will very quickly have a full field of runners. We're contacting your club to give your members priority notice, but we would ask them to get their entries in quickly.
With all best wishes for the New Year, Lesley Brown, The Blakedown Bolters
Leamington Spa Regency 10k
Entry for the 2012 Wright Hassall Leamington Spa Regency 10k IS NOW OPEN
Previously voted Britain’s 2nd best 10k. 9am Sunday 15th April 2012.
Prizes for 1st (£100), 2nd (£50) & 3rd (£25) Placed Men and Ladies.
All Finishers Receive a Medal, T-Shirt and Goodie Bag. All Proceeds to Local Charities.
Enter Early To Avoid Disappointment - Previous Years Oversubscribed.
Click www.regency10k.co.uk now to enter.
Why not make a New Year’s resolution get your trainers out of the cupboard! How about organising a team of friends or work colleagues?
This year to help people new or relatively new to running local athletes have put together an exciting training program;
The Regency Run in conjunction with Spa Striders, the CSW Athletics Network and the University of Warwick Endurance Academy is organising three training support services to assist runners preparing for this year’s race. The training and coaching package brings together a number of local experts and organisations to advise you regardless of your age, fitness level or aspiration. Further information is available from http://www.regency10k.co.uk/index.php

Herefordshire Winter X-Country League
I hope we can have a full turn out for the last two races in the New Year. These are:
Race 4 - 8 January 2012 Monkhall Farm
Race 5 - 5 February 2012 Presteigne
Regards, Jonathan Green Mob 079 7416 8577

Marathon Talk
Spring Motivation www.marathontalk.com By runners, for runners. A weekly podcast dedicated to keeping you on the inside track to successful...

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Wed 4/1 Club Night – MSJ 7pm
Sat 7/1 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sun 8/1 MJ Cross-Country, Monkhall Farm
Sun 8/1 Gloucester New Year 10
Sun 15/1 Not the Roman IX - Stratford
Sun 22/1 Gloucester Marathon & 50K
Sun 22/1 Blymill 10k, Shifnal, Shropshire (CL)
Sun 5/2 MJ Cross-Country, Presteigne
Sun 5/2 Stourbridge Stagger 10 (CL)
Sun 5/2 Mayhill Massacre
Sun 12/2 The Muddy Woody 6 (CL)
Sun 12/2 Wyre Forest MT8
Sun 12/2 Dursley Dozen
Sun 19/2 Cotswold Marathon & 35 Miler
Sun 19/2 Mudrunner Icebreaker
Sun 4/3 Droitwich Half Marathon
Sun 15/4 Worcester Half & Full Marathon
Note CL = Champions League Event

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 18 December 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

MJs Champions League
From Race Captain Julie - Having looked at local races in January and February, the Committee and I have decided on the following races to kick start our Champions League for 2012.
1 January Hereford New Year's Day 10k
22 January Blymill 10k, Shifnal, Shropshire
5 February Stourbridge Stagger 10 miles
12 February The Muddy Woody 6 miles
Please enter races well in advance as some of them fill up very quickly.

Christmas Eve Bacon Run
From Jenny Field - Anyone wanting to get into the Christmas spirit and join us in an ALL ability run up to the top of the Worcester Beacon meet at 2pm in Rosebank Gardens. Two groups:- faster longer run with Roodie, slower shorter route with Jenny.
All meet at the top for mulled wine and mince pies. Run down and then gather in Nags Head for those who want more 'festive cheer'.
Wine and mince pies will be supplied by club and transported by Geoff. (not able to run).
Please let us know if you are coming so we can cater accordingly. geoff.field@lineone.net

An Interesting Observation by Our Sec. Geoff .........
Did you know that William Shakespeare was an early Jogger? These lines from "The Winter's Tale" prove it:-
"Jog on, jog on the footpath way
And merrily hent the stile:
A merry heart goes all the day,
Your sad tires in a mile"
He knew what he was talking about!"

Forthcoming Race – The Fladbury Festive Five 2/1/12
Only two MJs in this one last year but they obviously appreciated my participation as they have invited me back, as follows …..
‘ Last year you joined us in Fladbury for the Festive Five. It would be great to see you again on January 2nd – we have a new venue – check out www.fladburyfestivefive.org
There will be a warm welcome and cakes waiting for you! Cheers, Louise, 07968 252847 ‘
And I will be doing it again, if only to see if it’s as cold as last year! Would anyone like to join me?

Race Reports
Telford 10K 18/12/11 by Julie Caseley
Knowing how cold it was this morning, it was a struggle to get out of bed early to go to Telford. However, I managed it and was in plenty of time for the 11.15am start. The elite sub 40 minute runners started at 10.30am.
There were very few facilities at the start as the Town Park is undergoing extensive refurbishment and unfortunately the new Visitor Centre that was due to be completed in early December was not finished. However, there were plenty of entrants for both races and the organisers welcome all abilities. I had a fantastic race last year and knew I would get nowhere near my time of just over 48 minutes, and I didn't!! I was happy to receive a finishers medal and as I was the only one who went to the prize presentation, I was given a lovely technical t- shirt!! I also saw Joan and Barry's name on the start list but didn't see them, so if you were there I hope you had a good race.
Thanks, Julie

Two Christmas Eve Runs
More Roodie ..... O Come all yee faithfull!! meet at the Rose Bank Gardens @ 2.00pm for a run up to the Beacon and back to the Nags for some Christmas Cheer and Merriment, Mince pies and some Port/Mulled wine on top of the Beacon as per usual. All abilities welcome.
And for Gentle Joggers .....
GENTLE JOGGERS CHRISTMAS EVE RUN
From Jenny Field .....There is a Christmas run planned from Rosebank Gardens to the top of Worcester Beacon at 2pm on Christmas Eve.
So that the full range of abilities can take part I will happily lead a group of slower runners up to the top via a shorter route. OK it will be up hill but we are allowed to walk. The reward will be festive cheer at the top and downhill all the way back. Plus, more re-hydration at the Nags Head if desired.
Please let me know if you would be interested. email .... jennifer.field@lineone.net

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Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Tue 20/11 Hill Training - 5:45 at Link Top car park for a few reps of Cowleigh Bank
Wed 21/12 Club Night – MSJ 7pm
Thu 22/12 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12 8-9pm Cost £2
Sat 24/12 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sat 24/12 Christmas Eve Run - Rose Bank Gardens, 2.00pm
Sun 1/1 New Years Day 10K – Hereford (CL)
Mon 2/1 Fladbury Festive 5
Sun 8/1 MJ Cross-Country, Monkhall Farm
Sun 8/1 Gloucester New Year 10
Sun 15/1 Not the Roman IX - Stratford
Sun 22/1 Gloucester Marathon & 50K
Sun 22/1 Blymill 10k, Shifnal, Shropshire (CL)
Sun 5/2 MJ Cross-Country, Presteigne
Sun 5/2 Stourbridge Stagger 10 (CL)
Sun 5/2 Mayhill Massacre
Sun 12/2 The Muddy Woody 6 (CL)
Sun 12/2 Wyre Forest MT8
Sun 12/2 Dursley Dozen
Sun 19/2 Cotswold Marathon & 35 Miler
Sun 19/2 Mudrunner Icebreaker
Sun 4/3 Droitwich Half Marathon
Sun 15/4 Worcester Half & Full Marathon
Note CL = Champions League Event

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 11 December 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

From Our Chairman Stuart ....
I’ve had a really busy Malvern Joggers week: on Monday evening there was a committee meeting, Tuesday was hill reps, Wednesday was the Christmas party, Thursday circuits, Friday 10 miles round Malvern and Sunday the 10 mile Mortimer Forest off road race. What an understanding wife I have.

Many Thanks to Andy Milton, Steve Roode and their team for all the hard work involved in organising and running Wednesdays Christmas party at the Rugby Club.

Next Sunday your running choices include the annual Hills Run and the Malvern Juniors relay. If you’re not up to the Hills see if you can join the Juniors at MSJ.

Lastly a reminder that there is one more ‘Circuits Session’ before Christmas on Thursday 22nd December between 8 – 9 at MSJ or 7.15 for a short run beforehand.

MJ Juniors Christmas Cracker Relay, 10.30 am Sunday 18th December
From Andy Dickenson .......
Don't forget! You are all invited to join our Junior members in a team relay in which the baton will be a Christmas Cracker. Teams will comprise at least one Junior and 2 or 3 seniors depending on numbers. Each leg will be a lap of MSJ which is about half a mile so even if you have never raced before you will be able to get round. Entry is FREE, but if you can bring some festive fare to share afterwards that would be appreciated. We meet at 10.30 at the pavilion below the astroturf at MSJ. Hope to see you there.
Lisa, Richard, Sam, Andy B & Andy D.
Also,
Race Result Gloucs XC League Congratulatons to Cameron Smy who ran the U11 race in the Gloucester XC League on Saturday to become the first runner to represent the MJ's as an MJ Junior. Cameron ran a steady start but worked his way through the field to finish strongly passing many fading athletes to finish 40th overall. He is now looking foward to taking on all comers at the Christmas Cracker Relay next week.

Race Reports
Mortimer Forest Hill Race 11/12/11 by Graham Cramp
Five Malvern Joggers took part in the Mortimer Forest Hill Race, and what a great race it was too. It was an exceptionally friendly event, with a supportive and encouraging group of runners and plenty of chat on the course. There were some comical wipeouts in the wet and difficult conditions on the steep downhill sections, with runners tripping over each other, but always finishing with a laugh and a handshake. I rate this as one of my favourite races in the calendar, and a must for any aspiring fell runner. If you haven't done it yet, give it a go next year - showers, bacon butties, chips and coffee finished it all off nicely; all credit to Ludlow Runners. Many thanks to Nigel Sewell, Jonathan Green, Ian Dyson and Stuart Brown for great camaraderie and team spirit. We'll be back next year!
Thanks, Graham
Sneyd Christmas Pudding Run 11/12/11 by Julie Caseley
Had a super run at the Sneyd Christmas Pudding 10 mile Run this morning. The weather conditions were great and I managed to finish before it started to pour with rain. The route wasn't particularly exciting but it was flat and once I managed to get my head round the two 5 mile laps, I began to enjoy it more. The last time I did this race was in 2007 when it was a one 10 mile lap but since then, due to health and safety reasons, the organisers have had to alter the course. Still, 10 miles is still 10 miles and I finished in 1 hr 25 mins, 5 mins faster than the Great South Run at the end of October and slightly faster than my last run here in 2007. Hope those who did Mortimer Forest had a good run too.
Thanks, Julie

Hills Run Sunday 18/12/11
From Peter Wilson - If your idea of ideal preparation for the festive season is ticking off the various hills from Chase End to the northern tip, then please join the 8th annual Hills Run on Sunday 18 December. Meet at the North Quarry car park at 9.30 for a lift to the other end followed by a convivial (and definitely not fast) run all the way back, via as many summits as we can agree upon (there is usually some negotiation along the way). Post run refreshment in the Nags, open to all of course. If interested, please contact Nick Hitchings on Facebook or email me on garp1208@aol.com so we can plan the transport.

Forthcoming Race
From David Hibbitt - Worcester Athletic Club .........This is just to give you advance warning that Worcester Athletic Club is hosting "The Bulmers Bash" on Sunday 20th May 2012, a 6.5 mile race around Bulmers orchards at Wichenford. I will e-mail you an entry form once l details have been finalised, there will be one available on the WAC website, hopefully in January.

Marathon Talk - Spring Motivation www.marathontalk.comBy runners, for runners. A weekly podcast dedicated to keeping you on the inside track to successful...

Charity Appeal – from Acorns
Dear Runner, If anyone at your running club has a ballot place at the 2012 London Marathon, I’d like to invite them to join Team Acorns – and run for their local children’s hospice.
I work as a physiotherapist at the Acorns hospice in Walsall. At this year’s London Marathon I broke the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon dressed as a nurse (2:52:26). I’ll be running for Acorns again in 2012 – and I’m hoping to break my own record (or a new record if someone else breaks it before 22 April).
I’ve attached an A4 flyer with details about Team Acorns and how runners from your club can join us. There’s no minimum pledge to run for Acorns – and we welcome runners of all ages and abilities. (You don’t have to dress as a nurse either!)
It would be great if you could put the flyer on your notice board and tell people about Team Acorns. If you’d like to receive the flyer in the post, or you want more information, please call Lucy Shepherd on 01564 825023 or email events@acorns.org.uk
Many thanks for your help. Kevin Harvey, Acorns Children’s Hospice
To find out more about Acorns and our vital work, visit www.acorns.org.uk
Kevin Harvey, Physiotherapist, Acorns Children's Hospice, Walstead Road, Walsall, WS5 4LZ, 01922 422500
mailto:kevin.harvey@acorns.org.uk www.acorns.org.uk

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Tue 13/11 Hill Training - 5:45 at Link Top car park for a few reps of Cowleigh Bank
Wed 14/12 Club Night – MSJ 7pm
Thu 15/12 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12 8-9pm Cost £2
Sat 17/12 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sun 18/12 Hills Run. Meet North Quarry car park at 9.30 for a lift to the other end. email.. garp1208@aol.com
Wed 21/12 Club Night – MSJ 7pm
Sat 17/12 Xmas Gloucester 5 Mile Race -www.beyondthelimitations.co.uk
Sun 18/12 MJ Juniors Christmas Cracker Relay, 10.30 am
Sat 24/12 Christmas Eve Run - Rose Bank Gardens, 2.00pm
Sun 1/1 New Years Day 10K – Hereford (CL)
Mon 2/1 Fladbury Festive 5
Sun 8/1 MJ Cross-Country, Monkhall Farm
Sun 8/1 Gloucester New Year 10
Sun 15/1 Not the Roman IX - Stratford
Sun 22/1 Gloucester Marathon & 50K
Sun 22/1 Blymill 10k, Shifnal, Shropshire (CL)
Sun 5/2 MJ Cross-Country, Presteigne
Sun 5/2 Stourbridge Stagger 10 (CL)
Sun 5/2 Mayhill Massacre
Sun 12/2 The Muddy Woody 6 (CL)
Sun 12/2 Wyre Forest MT8
Sun 12/2 Dursley Dozen
Sun 19/2 Cotswold Marathon & 35 Miler
Sun 19/2 Mudrunner Icebreaker
Sun 4/3 Droitwich Half Marathon
Sun 15/4 Worcester Half & Full Marathon
Note CL = Champions League Event

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 04 December 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

A request from Malvern Joggers for details about your fundraising this year
From Sarah Grout – Hi MJs, now I know for a fact that there are many of you charitable souls who haven't come forward with details of your fundraising.
At our MJs Christmas party on the 7th I am doing our now annual round up on the MJ fundraising year - including a tally of how much we've raised between us all through our running activity and which charities we've supported.
I would welcome hearing from any MJ :
- the charity/ies you've supported
- what events you organised/used/ran in to raise money
- the total you raised (not including GiftAid)
I have heard from a few people (my thanks to those for that!) so no need for them to email again, but I know many out there are hiding their charity lights under a bushel and it would be great to give them a mention too and add your fundraising in to our tally.
My home email is sarahsgrout@aol.com or text 07540 271399 or accessible via work (details below)
Best wishes to all, Grouty
PS: Don't forget I have tickets for the Christmas Party in the shop if you haven't got yours already! The more MJs is ALWAYS the merrier
Sarah Grout Tel: 01684 566511 Mob: 07540 Email: info@malverneventorganiser.co.uk

Circuit Training with Barry Swindells
Warm up run
Get back in form after the M J Xmas party with a warm up before the Thursday circuit. We will be doing a 3 miles run from MSJ starting at 7:15 pm prompt.
Also a useful 'fix' if you need the extra miles.
Route:- Barnards Green, Poolbrooke Rd., Longridge Rd., St. Andrews Rd.
Pace:- 8.5 / 9.0 mins/mile steady. (But no one will be left behind).
If you decide to come please bring spare tee shirt for the gym work.
Endurance Training Phase
By December you should be well into the Endurance phase of you early winter training, September - January.
Endurance = Stamina and Strength training.
Some suggestions:
Gradually increasing the lengths of your training runs for your target distance.
Long reps at target race pace ie. (6 x 800 / 1000 or mile with say 2 mins recovery). Gradually reduce the recoveries to a 1 min. jog as you get stronger. It won't be possible to do 10 Km in 48.00 mins.if you cannot string together 5 or 6 - 800 mts. at 8 m/m pace.
Interval running, 3 or 4 mins. fast then 1 min. jog. Keep it up for 40 or 50 mins. Keep strictly to the timing and No walking.
Hill reps Average slope 1:15; Shallow slopes and Shallow down hill running.
That's the running bit, but for completeness you must be running strong physically, this will also reduce the risk of injuries.
Improve your core stability - hips and lower back exercise, upper body strength - gym work, try to run tall.
All this means gym. work is essential.
Nothing will improve your stamina more than a good competitive Cross Country race.
All the endurance training should be on a four week cycle, three weeks hard work, one week easing off. Then onto the next level.
Finally if you loose running form in any of the above stop and wait for a better day.
The down side is that most of your running has to be done against the clock - the up side is there's nothing like a PB and winning your age group.

Age Related Best Performances (Coming Soon)
From Barry Swindells - The Club has agreed to have a link on the Malvern Joggers web site to the best age group performances of members. The link will also lead to the best five recorded times of all recognised age groups. The groups will be at five year intervals so there is plenty of scope to get included in the listings.
Attached are some simple rules which will be applied and it will be up to the individual to put their personal best times forward for consideration.
The starting date is 1 January 2011, so get those result sheets checked out so we can get the list off to a good start. It should be fairly easy to get on the list initially, but will get progressively more difficult as years go by.

MJ Juniors Christmas Cracker Relay, 10.30 am Sunday 18th December
From Andy Dickenson - You are all invited to join our Junior members in a team relay in which the baton will be a Christmas Cracker. Teams will comprise at least one Junior and 2 or 3 seniors depending on numbers. Each leg will be a lap of MSJ which is about half a mile so even if you have never raced before you will be able to get round. Entry is FREE, but if you can bring some festive fare to share afterwards that would be appreciated. We meet at 10.30 at the pavilion below the astroturf at MSJ. Hope to see you there.
Lisa, Richard, Sam, Andy B & Andy D.
And also .....
MJ Junior XC Race 10th December
MJ Juniors are going to Gloucestershire XC League meeting next Saturday at Prince of Wales stadium, Cheltenham. Registration is from 11.00. U11 Boys and U11 Girls races are at 12.10 and 12.20 respectively and are 1.5 K. U13 Boys and Girls run at 12.35 and 12.50 - each doing 2.4 K. U15 Boys will run 4.8 k at 1.10 and U15 Girls 4.8 K at 1.35.
Please remember it is the parents' responsibility to transport to races. Registration cost is £2.00.
Full details, including venue, directions and course maps are at:
http://www.glosaaa.org.uk/PDFS/Cheltenhamvenuedetails_CLC_Dec%202011.pdf
If you are intending to run please let me know at dickensons@btinternet.com
Thanks, Andy Dickenson

Worcester Full and Half Marathon – Sunday 15th April 2012
A brand new Marathon and Half Marathon comes to the great City of Worcester. Starting and finishing at Worcester Warriors Rugby Ground – Six Ways, runners will race around some beautiful rural villages lying to the East of the City. Both races will happen simultaneously with the race start time at 9:30am. Half Marathon runners will run a one lap course and then come in to the finish right outside the home of Rugby in Worcester while the Marathoners will head around for another loop before the last downhill mile to the finish line, receive their goody bag and to rest their legs.
Our charity partner for this new event is St Richard’s Hospice – a fantasic organisation which provides palliative care for patients in Worcestershire. To run and raise money for this charity please enter the race and then download a sponsorship form by clicking here. To find out more about St Richard’s Hospice please click here.
It’s not compulsory to run to raise money for St Richard’s Hospice but we would really appreciate your to help for such a worthy cause!!
Feel free to look at the Race Info page and the map of the course before entering. But don’t delay too long we are getting entries daily already!!!!
www.thresholdevents.co.uk/running/worcester-marathon/worcester-marathon.php
Entry form attached

Race Reports
Croome Capability Canter 27/11/11 by Annie Dendy
From the perspective of a "Gentle Jogger"......
I arrived at Croome very nervous and questioning whether i should even be there. After a long wait for the start i very nearly got in the car and came home after hearing lots of little snippets about the race such as "it's actually longer than 10K" , "i hope it's not as muddy as last year" " and "there's a few hills!" The look of trepidation on my face must have been evident as Stuart collared me in the warm up area and said "you're not thinking of running off are you Annie?"
Well all i can say is that i did make it round. i didn't think it was possible to go any slower than i did at Evesham 10k earlier this year, especially with the training i've done in between but somehow i managed it. I was pretty much out of my depth and i found the course really tough but the place was beautiful and the sight of 3 green and yellow shirts bounding down the hill at the end to help make sure i got up and finished as well as i could was very heart warming and a sight i shall never forget. Thanks to Roodie, Megz and Ros. Malvern Joggers are an amazing bunch of people and i feel very proud to be part of that. I shall continue to work hard to improve but perhaps cross country is not for the novice! Thanks for all your support
Thanks, Annie

Wednesday Night Run Leaders
Jayne again - I've had conversations/exchanged e-mails with a number of people about offering to lead different groups and changing from leading one group to another. I hope I've remembered all these correctly and reflected them in the rota. If not, please accept my apologies, and do please feel free to remind me! Also, if you are not currently on the rota and would like to be re-instated, please let me know. I'm always grateful for more leaders. Very many thanks to the new people who have joined to lead the Relaxed 10 group in response to my appeal :-)
I am planning to be back with you on Wed nights in the New Year - so see you all then, or at the Xmas party on Wed!
Email....jayne.ackroyd@mac.com

Herefordshire Winter X-Country League - Race 3 Hundred House Sunday 4 December 2011
From Jon Green - Well done and a big thank you to Ruth, John, Nigel, Ian and Chris who turned out to run this morning. Unfortunately many regular runners (me included) were unavailable for this one. A copy of the results are attached. I hope we can have a full turn out for the last two races in the New Year. These are:
Race 4 - 8 January 2012 Monkhall Farm
Race 5 - 5 February 2012 Presteigne
Regards, Jonathan Green Mob 079 7416 8577

Parkrun
42 MJs have now done the Worcester Parkrun at least once. Saturday’s first-timers were Jayne Ackroyd, Viv Tolley, Gill and Liz McCann. www.parkrun.org.uk It’s free to enter but you must register on the website first and print off your barcode.

Christmas Party Announcement
From Andy Milton. Anyone to come please can you e mail me on themiltons4@hotmail.com or phone me on 07962 230885. Thanks, Chuckles entertainments.

Circuit Training - At Malvern St. James Sports Hall.
Sessions will be for 1 hour each, starting at 8:00 p.m. A small fee of £2:00 per session will be charged for each club member (guests £2:50, subject to space being available).
We have booked fortnightly sessions through to the end of March, making 13 sessions in all.
Please bring your fee along on Thursday night - it will be collected before the session.
Alternatively, you can sign up in advance for all 13 sessions at a reduced fee of £20:00.
If you want to take advantage of this offer, please bring your cheque (or cash) with you to the first session.
Hope to see you on Thursday (and Wednesday, of course) Geoff Field, Club Secretary

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Tue 6/11 Hill Training - 5:45 at Link Top car park for a few reps of Cowleigh Bank
Wed 7/12 The Joggers Christmas party 7.30pm Malvern Rugby Club
Thu 8/12 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12 8-9pm Cost £2
Sat 10/12 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sat 10/12 MJ Junior XC Race - Prince of Wales stadium, Cheltenham
Sun 11/12 Mortimer Forest 10
Wed 14/12 Club Night – MSJ 7pm
Sat 17/12 Xmas Gloucester 5 Mile Race -www.beyondthelimitations.co.uk
Sun 18/12 MJ Juniors Christmas Cracker Relay, 10.30 am
Sat 24/12 Christmas Eve Run - Rose Bank Gardens @ 2.00pm
Sun 1/1 New Years Day 10K - Hereford
Mon 2/1 Fladbury Festive 5
Sun 8/1 MJ Cross-Country, Monkhall Farm
Sun 22/1 Gloucester Marathon & 50 Miler
Sun 5/2 MJ Cross-Country, Presteigne
Sun 19/2 Cotswold Marathon & 35 Miler
Sun 4/3 Droitwich Half Marathon
Sun 15/4 Worcester Half & Full Marathon

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 27 November 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

MJs Champions League club competition
From Race Captain Julie Caseley ....."Today’s Croome Capability Canter was the last race on this years’ Champions League and as soon as the results go live, the League will be updated and distributed. As discussed at the AGM on Wednesday, if anyone has any suggestions of races that they’d like to see included in the Champions League for 2012 then I will put them to the Committee for possible inclusion.
Suggested races should be within a reasonable distance of Malvern and accessible to Joggers who wish to participate. They can be road, trail, cross country and any distance (except marathon!) A reminder that the
Champions League is open to all members of Malvern Joggers – there are usually 2 races a month, except December when there are none and the male and female trophies are awarded at the Christmas Party. There is also an amnesty in January and February when runners can be allocated points even if they are not a paid up Malvern Jogger but from March, only members are awarded points on the Champions League. Look forward to your comments/suggestions. The first race on the Champions League for 2012 is traditionally the Hereford New Year’s Day 10k. Happy winter running." juliecaseley@tiscali.co.uk

Herefordshire Winter X-Country League - Race 3 Hundred House Sunday 4 December 2011
Race 3 is a week today. Ladies and men will be running the same distance this year. The race start is at 11.00, which will mean leaving MSJ at around 08.45. Please let me know by email, text or phone call if you plan to run. Many thanks. (Contact me on - green.jonathan@virgin.net, 079 7416 8577 or 01684 891029).
After next week, the remaining races are:
Race 4 - 8 January 2012 Monkhall Farm
Race 5 - 5 February 2012 Presteigne
PS Great to see so many MJs at Croome this morning. If you enjoyed it and fancy something similar but a little hillier come along and try the X-Country!
Regards, Jonathan Green H 01684 891 029, M 079 7416 8577

Christmas Party Announcement
From Andy Milton - We need to confirm numbers for the Joggers Xmas party on 7th Dec by end of next week, so all those intending to come and have still not purchased a ticket can you do so by then please. I'm not there this Wednesday but Steve Roode will have some available and Sarah Grout is still selling them in her charity shop next door to Wilkinson’s. Anyone who cannot purchase them by end of next week but wants to come please can you e mail me on themiltons4@hotmail.com or phone me on 07962 230885.
Thanks, Chuckles entertainments.

Race Reports
Croome Capability Canter 10K MT 27/11/11
From Julie Caseley ..... Well done to everyone who ran the Croome Capability Canter 10k this morning – Malvern Joggers had a very good turnout on a beautiful day.
Having not done this race last year, I found the course not too bad at all – the uphill start was OK on fresh legs
but the uphill finish at the end of a slightly long 10k course was a little cruel but it had to be done to get the
medal and the rather nice goody bag.
Congratulations to Julie Mitchell and Jon Newey who won the female vet and male vet age category prizes.
(P.S. Could anyone who ran this race under someone else’s name please let me know asap so points for the Champions League can be allocated correctly). Many thanks. Email .. juliecaseley@tiscali.co.uk
More Croome from Jon Newey .....
Jules is reclining on the sofa this evening drinking fizz from her rather fine crystal tumbler that she won. Yes, she was first Lady Veteran and we think third lady to finish. I have a matching tumbler for being first Male vet having crossed the line in second place. As there were only MV40 and LV40 prizes and also prizes for the first man and woman there was limited opportunity for the rest of the Joggers to cash in, despite a very good run from new MV50 Jon Green who was well inside the top 20.
Roodie was a fringe beneficiary as each prize winner also got a year’s family ticket to Croome Park. As Jules and I had one each we donated one to Roodie. Of course he ran a cracking race too....honest.....

Roodie’s ASS
Next Friday 2nd December get your ASS down to 75 yates hay road @ 6.00pm for a 6.15 start - we are starting speed/hill reps again. Everyone is welcome any speed and ability. A free beer to all participants to carb load (according to runners world).
Cheers, Steve

Christmas Eve Run
More Roodie ..... O Come all yee faithfull!! meet at the Rose Bank Gardens @ 2.00pm for a run up to the Beacon and back to the Nags for some Christmas Cheer and Merriment, Mince pies and some Port/Mulled wine on top of the Beacon as per usual. All abilities welcome.

Wed night leaders rota
If anyone would like to join the Wed night leaders rota, please e-mail me on jayne.ackroyd@mac.com> I would particularly welcome volunteers to lead the Relaxed 10 group, so if you regularly run in that group please consider if you could lead the occasional run. Very many thanks!

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Tue /11 Hill Training - 5:45 at Link Top car park for a few reps of Cowleigh Bank
Wed 30/11 Club Run – Malvern St James Sports & Fitness Centre 7pm
Thu 1/12 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12 8-9pm Cost £2
Sat 3/12 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sun 4/12 MJ Cross-Country, Hundred House (Nr Builth Wells)
Wed 7/12 The Joggers Christmas party 7.30pm Malvern Rugby Club
Sun 11/12 Mortimer Forest 10
Sat 17/12 Xmas Gloucester 5 Mile Race (www.beyondthelimitations.co.uk)
Sun 18/12 MJ Juniors Christmas Cracker Relay, 10.30 am
Sat 24/12 Christmas Eve Run - Rose Bank Gardens @ 2.00pm
Sun 1/1 New Years Day 10K - Hereford
Mon 2/1 Fladbury Festive 5
Sun 8/1 MJ Cross-Country, Monkhall Farm
Sun 22/1 Gloucester Marathon & 50 Miler
Sun 5/2 MJ Cross-Country, Presteigne
Sun 19/2 Cotswold Marathon & 35 Miler
Sun 4/3 Droitwich Half Marathon

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 20 November 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Annual General Meeting
The club’s A.G.M. will be taking place on Wednesday 23 November at 8:15 p.m. for a prompt 8:30 start. The venue is the Vaughan Hall at Manor Park Sports Club.
There will be a club run as normal at 7:00 p.m. from Malvern St. James, but runs will be shorter to allow people to change before the A.G.M. (don't forget the changing facilities available at MSJ).
There is a bar at Manor Park, so refreshment will be available.

Worcester Parkrun
MJ Paul Newman reports - Another great Park run on Saturday, 11 MJ's in attendance including a few "Virgins" including Steve Roode (I never thought I'd be able to say that)... Megz, Sharon White and Sam Burnage
Richard from Park Run says, we've had 77 MJ's runs of the Worcester parkrun, by 30 different MJ's , at 5k per run that's 385km in total.
This week Megz came in 2nd lady despite having a bad virus, Debbie Russell was 3rd lady several MJ's recorded PB's including Diane Mary Meakin, Debbie Russell, Lettita Barrett and myself. Everyone enjoyed it there were a few youngsters running the race so its one for all the family ! Sam is planning to bring Cathy and "Team Burnage" and get the whole family involved.
I'd encourage all MJ's to give this one a go its free and open to all abilities and age groups !
Worcester Parkrun see ..... http://www.parkrun.org.uk

From the Worcester Parkrun website .....
Far from slowing Worcester parkrunners down, leaves on the running line actually speeds our parkrunners up, well that’s my scientific explanation. The leaves must have offered some extra bounce to our stride as there were an amazing 24 personal bests this week, well done all. If like me you didn’t PB don’t worry there’s always next week, check out the list of PB stars below.
A big WELL DONE to Alex Elsey and Katie Brooks who received their Under 14 “10 parkrun” running shirts. There are further prizes for achieving 50 and 100 parkruns. Who will be Worcesters first “50” parkrunner…?
There was big crowd of 21 parkrunners visiting Worcester parkrun for their first time this week and despite the tape being pulled down around the course (we are watching out for the mystery tape vandal) we all found our way back to the fast downhill finish. We think we may have the fastest finish of any parkrun some runners even missed the funnel this week and shot straight up the bank, specifically designed to slow you down, post sprint. We’ll be widening and extending the funnel to make sure we catch you all next week.
Another big crowd came over from our local club Malvern Joggers, who had 11 runners in the field, you can easily spot them with their cool green tops on. Hope to see you all again soon MJ’s. Thanks for the support.
The race got underway and the start was one the fastest I have ever seen, the smarter runners taking it steady at the start and working their way through the field. Maia Hawkins from Worcester AC lead home the Female runners in a spectacular time of 21:57, especially as she is under 14, well done Maia you’re our first junior winner and it was your debut, the course record is in your sights we’re sure of it.
Terry Conway was back (Ultra runner), and leading the field with about 10 runners trying to hang on to his track, Paul Little nearly managed it but Terry held the lead all the way to come first in 17:17 with Paul 30 seconds behind.
Congratulations to all our PB'ers this week.
Worcester Parkrun see ..... http://www.parkrun.org.uk
And http://www.parkrun.org.uk/worcester/results/clubhistory?clubNum=1693
This week there were 73 runners, of whom 21 were first timers and 24 recorded new Personal Bests. Representatives of 13 different athletics clubs took part.
Worcester parkrun started on 18th June 2011, and since then 409 different runners, including participants from 59 athletics clubs, have completed 1,150 runs covering a total distance of 5,750 km, and there have been 375 new Personal Bests.
The Women's course record is held by MJ Vikki SIVERTSEN who ran in a time of 20:38 on 5th November 2011 (event number 21).

Race Reports
Turin Marathon13/11/11 by Peter Wilson
The Turin marathon isn’t one you often hear mentioned but it has a proud history, claiming to date its origins to 1897, which must make it one of the oldest. However this year’s event was officially the 25th, so along the way there must have been a big gap or lots of little ones. My reasons for choosing this one to run were many and varied but top of the list was: Turin! The Italian Job! Already I could see those little Minis whizzing round the streets and outwitting the chasing police. What could be better than to visit the city and re-enact my own version, involving a newly broken-in pair of trainers and several dobs of vaseline.
From the website the course looked promising - a complete circuit of the city, beginning and ending in the grand Piazza Castello (where also began the famous traffic jam in the movie!). It was portrayed as scenic, with many historical sights. I discovered this was certainly true of the first couple of K’s, and the last come to that, but in between was a very long tour of the outlying districts with not a great deal of variety to distract from the tarmac ahead. But it was well organised, with sponge and refreshment stations every few K and a good race village, where in addition to the usual running gear outlets there were stands selling various local produce, like a regular food market. So instead of hunting for free samples of energy bar, you could nibble on a sausage or try a bit of gorgonzola.
This was not a noticeably international event. Everyone looked and sounded Italian and I saw no club colours from further afield. So as the lone Malvern Jogger I’m not optimistic that my efforts will earn any Champions League points. For the record, I managed to get round in 3 hours 48, which is a personal best on a cheese and sausage pre-race diet.
Thanks, Peter
Runway 10K (Staverton Airport) 20/11/11 by Chris Barker
Chocs away I said as I put down that box of Milk Tray just as the gun sounded for the first ever running event staged by the CLC Striders of Cheltenham. I thought it might be appropriate to get off to a flying start! but instead I joined in with the other punters at the back as normal for me. I was rather interested to see how this one panned out as I didn’t fancy being chased down said runway by a jet aircraft. The Birdman of the Malvern Joggers. I know I’m running better lately but that would be a challenge too far. The race HQ was a pub in the grounds of the airport called The Aviator which is a strange place for a pub but very useful if you’re a nervous type when it comes to flying.
When the race started it quickly made its way out of the confines of the airport and through what looked like a housing estate in the outskirts of Cheltenham. This was a bit dull but then we moved into the countryside which although misty was a lot better than what preceded it. I don’t know what the finisher’s memento was as no-one presented me with anything at the finish and I didn’t go looking for anything. If it was a parachute jump they can keep it. For the record I took me 49.42 to complete the course which put me 67th of the 129 who took part.
I was the soul MJ at this one, James Brown got nothin’ on me.

Macmillan Cancer Support Christmas Fayre
Grouty ....... Saturday, November 26 at 10:00am, Location: Colwall Village Hall
Sarah inviteS you to Macmillan Cancer Support Christmas Fayre and says "Hi All Thought you might be interested to come to Colwall Macmillan's Christmas Fayre next Saturday - all sorts of goodies there for presies, decorations, table coverings, food treats etc.... we'd love to see you there if you can make it. Grouty ".

Grouty’s New Charity Shop
From Sarah .....I thought I ought to point out, just in case you're looking out for a 'charity shop', that my shop is 'The Malvern Event Organiser' in Church Walk, next-door-but-one to Wilkinson, and next door to ' Lace' (for those of you that like beautiful lingerie!). I have the MJs party tickets here and would love to see your smiling faces. I am open 9.30 to 5.30 except Weds (9.30 to 1) and Sunday (10 to 1). I am keen to support any community, school and charity events that you may be involved in, but am not a charity shop as such.

How to get rid of the camel toe
Spotted by Rebecca Pack ......A staggering 55% of women, irrespective of age, size or weight, experience camel toe at some point. Even glamorous, slim, high profile celebrities have suffered the embarrassment of camel toe and it is frequently mentioned in Sex and the City 2. Now thanks to the new, safe and discreet SmoothGroove camel toe remedy, all women can get on with their lives without having to worry about how they look. After all, being a woman is hard enough at times and having a SmoothGroove to hand in your underwear drawer will make it just that little bit easier!

MJs Cross-Country
A reminder of the remaining league races:
Race 3 - 4 December 2011 Hundred House (Nr Builth Wells)
Race 4 - 8 January 2012 Monkhall Farm
Race 5 - 5 February 2012 Presteigne
(All races start at 11.00 am)
Let me know if you will be running the next race at Hundred House.
green.jonathan@virgin.net

MJs Christmas Party
From the Chuckles entertainment agency - The Joggers Christmas party will be held at the rugby club on 7th December starting at 1930. It will be similar proceedings to last year, buffet, awards, entertainment, disco and lots of rowdy behaviour!! I'm not going to be running for the next 2 Wednesdays but will have tickets for sale shortly after that. In the meantime Joggers put it in your diaries, it's one not to be missed!!

MJ Juniors
From Andy Dickenson - Due to our current small numbers we won't be taking teams to the Gloucs XC league next Saturday but we hope, post AGM, to be at the next one in December in force. If any individuals do want to race then http://www.glosaaa.org.uk/PDFS/2011_1105_GlosCCLgevenuedetails.pdf will get you all the race details you need.
MJ Juniors will be training at MSJ at 10.30 next (and every) Sunday.

Virgin London Marathon Club Entries
If you have been unsuccessful in the VLM ballot, don't forget that the club has 3 places available through its affiliation with England Athletics. Place will be allocated by a draw at the Christmas Party, with 2 places for first-time London Marathoners and for a previous runner (But not for anyone who won a place in last year's club draw).
We have seven hopefuls so far, so if you want your name to go into the draw, let Geoff Field - geoff.field@lineone.net - know as soon as possible with some evidence that you have been rejected in the VLM ballot.

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Tue /11 Hill Training - 5:45 at Link Top car park for a few reps of Cowleigh Bank
Wed 23/11 Club Run – Malvern St James Sports & Fitness Centre 7pm
Wed 23/11 The MJ’s Annual General Meeting - Vaughan Hall - Manor Park Sports Club. 8.15 for 8.30pm start
Wed 23/11 Last day to apply for club LM places
Thu 24/11 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12 8-9pm Cost £2
Sat 26/11 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sun 27/11 Croome Capability Canter – Black Pear Joggers
Sun 4/12 MJ Cross-Country, Hundred House (Nr Builth Wells)
Wed 7/12 The Joggers Christmas party 7.30pm Malvern Rugby Club
Sun 11/12 Mortimer Forest 10
Mon 2/1 Fladbury Festive 5
Sun 8/1 MJ Cross-Country, Monkhall Farm
Sun 5/2 MJ Cross-Country, Presteigne
Sun 4/3 Droitwich Half Marathon

MSJ
We are very pleased to run from Malvern St James Sports Centre during the winter. As well as a great place to meet Malvern Joggers get:-
Free car parking, free hot showers and clean toilets, 10% discount in the shop if they are an MJ
No joining fee for membership and a 20% discount on the monthly fee for gym, classes and swimming pool
No joining fee for membership and a 20% discount on the monthly fee for swimming pool use
A range of classes open to MJ’s on a drop in basis
A warm bar with cheap bottled beers

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 13 November 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Maria Liviero
A message from our Chairman Stuart.....
Dear friends, I am sorry to have to tell you that Maria Liviero died on Saturday afternoon in St Richards Hospice.
Maria had been seriously ill with cancer for some months, though until recently she would regularly be seen walking her dog round Malvern.
Maria and her partner John have been supported in recent weeks by a loyal group of their Malvern Jogger friends and I understand that John is staying with Ros and Derek for the next few days. John is understandably very distressed.
I will let you know more information when I hear any.
Carpe Diem, Stuart

MJs Cross-Country
Herefordshire Winter X-Country League - Race 2 Croft Castle Sunday 13 November 2011 by Jon Green
A great race today over 3 laps of a beautiful, but tough, course. Hills, heat and mud; an unusual combination for winter cross country. 12 MJs made the journey; 2 ladies and 10 men. I don't have the official results but I'm pretty sure that our ladies (Emma and Ruth) dominated their race. (It was a real shame that we didn't have a 3rd lady to give us a ladies team result.) For the men, Adam Wilks finished first (running as a guest). I was first male MJ to count, very closely followed by Nigel Sewell. Then came Andrew Scott with Ian Dyson and Jerry Greer next in close formation. After them was Tony Bennett and Charlie Weller, who did well and enjoyed their first cross country league race. The final MJ to finish was Chris Jolley who ran without cramp this year and so was a much happier and quicker finisher than last year. Croft Ambrey, the race hosts, provided tea, coffee, biscuits and cider as post race refreshment!
A reminder of the remaining league races:
Race 3 - 4 December 2011 Hundred House (Nr Builth Wells)
Race 4 - 8 January 2012 Monkhall Farm
Race 5 - 5 February 2012 Presteigne
(All races start at 11.00 am)
Let me know if you will be running the next race at Hundred House.

Race Reports
SNOWDONIA MARATHON 2011 (EPILOGUE) by Ian Dyson
3 hours 56 minutes – Rubbish!........
Hang on a minute. Let’s think about it. The commentator was saying that it was a tough course. I always knew that there was a bit of climbing to do. The winner came in at 2 hrs 36 mins. That is 30 minutes slower than the London Marathon. London is flat. I guess the biggest hill is going over Tower Bridge. OK, Rob Samuel (the winner) doesn’t sound Kenyan or Ethiopean but the top UK runners would not expect to be much more than 5 to 10 minutes behind.
And John who we met on holiday, said that he “does a bit of running.” His mate told us later that he won the M60+ at London. I looked that up and his time was 3 hrs 03 mins. This time around Snowdonia he clocked (chipped) in at 3:33:38. Again, that is 30 minutes slower than his London time. He might have had an off day! Ah but, he was the first M60+ again so that can’t be such an off day.
Going back to the hills, my GPS recorded an overall ascent of 4428ft. That is four times the Beacon Race, and that took me 58 minutes to do once. (I’ll leave you to work out 4 x 58 mins.)
Right, so! If I can work it out the other way…. On a nice balmy April morning, with no wind, sheltered by all the buildings, no hills, about 15 foot of ascent (unless you count going up and down those cobble stones), I could knock 30 minutes off my time here and expect 3 hr 26 mins.
3:56:55 clock time, 3:55:30 chip time (3:26 London time), 417th overall out of 1431 starting, 13th M55+, in a class international field – both Welsh and English (not forgetting Ledbury). That can’t be too bad a result.
And another thing! (There always is!!). Remember that I said my PB was 3:17 many years ago. Well, I put that time in to an age/time comparison spreadsheet off the internet. The time it came up with was 3 hour 56 mins. And Manchester was a bit flatter than Snowdonia. So I must have run like a 28 year old.
After a few sleeps, forgetfulness kicks in and the pain subsides. What did cause that pain in the first place? What I do remember is that it was a very well organised event from start to finish. The scenery was superb (when the mist cleared) and there was plenty of camaraderie and excellent support from the soaking wet locals. I would recommend this event to anyone with a touch of masochism in them, which probably applies to everyone who considers doing a marathon.
P.S. Anyone fancy the Trail Marathon Wales in June?
Thanks, Ian
More Slog then Sodbury, more Country than Croft, The Roaches Fell Race 13th November by Richard Love
A group of 4 Malvern runners (myself Jon Bristow, Brad Crounch and Jon Newey) made the trek north to the Peak District for this BL Category Fell Race, 15miles and 3,700 ft ascent doesn’t sound too bad by some fell standards, unfortunately that just means you expect to do it faster! The promise of sun and good visibility didn’t materialise until after the race so the views of the spectacular Roaches was hidden, however the wind eroded rocks standing like Henry Moore creations on the top took on a spooky look in the mist. It was a reality big field of around 300 runners that set off out of Merebrook village through perhaps Britain’s dirtiest farm. The gateways to this dairy farm had an aroma that can only be achieved by a few hundred cows passing that way twice daily for milking, with the recent rain the deep cow poo and mud was reasonably unpleasant, worse comes when the mud gives way to pure slurry, it is a there and back route so the knowledge that I’d be passing that way again in a few hours was not encouraging. The main route was very pretty, even in the mist, with clear views it would be stunning. There was a bit of everything, rock, mud, forrest, peat bog (I managed to find a particularly deep bit), streams and hills. I felt pretty good on the way out, and tried hard not think of it as half way as I knew in terms of agony it was going to get worse. By the time I got back the muddy boggy pooey fields and slurry section I’d had enough it just wasn’t funny. I made a slow finish but felt a good day’s running had been done. Final results were not available at time of writing, but highlights were Jon Newey finished 8 overall and first old bastard over 40 in a time of less than 2 and half hours, Jon Bristow was about 80th (I think) in 2:44, I was a fair way back at over 3hrs (I don’t run with a watch!) and Brad (fell race virgin) was about 3:15. A good day out in good company and a satisfying run, what more can anyone want? Now lets open a bottle of wine.
Thanks, Richard

MJs Champions League
A message from Julie Caseley..... Looked at the results for this morning’s Sodbury Slog and Malvern Joggers who took part were Steve R., Amanda Duncan, Megan J., Lynda Walford and Jayne Cresswell. This is a Champions League race so if anyone ran with someone elses number could they please let me know asap otherwise points will be allocated incorrectly.
Email address is juliecaseley@tiscali.co.uk

HAVE YOU ASKED SANTA FOR A NEW GARMIN THIS CHRISTMAS?
If so I would be interested in buying a second hand one if anyone has one they want to part with. I'm not big in to analysing my runs or getting too detailed but would just like something that showed distance, pace etc. Something nice and basic for a technology beginner would be great.
If you think you might be able to help please do email me: cathy@malvernjoggers.co.uk or see me on Wednesday.
Thanks, Cathy Spence

Forthcoming Event
Fladbury Festive 5, Station Road, Fladbury – 2/1/12
This is a Multi Terrain 5 Mile Race (burn off those festive pounds !) in aid of community projects in Fladbury.
Entry £12 non affiliated, £10 affiliated, includes post race refreshments and cakes !
There will be prizes for age categories, spot prizes, and Fladbury Pies & Sausages.
For more info contact Julie Cross on 01386 861699or email the racedirector@fladburyfestivefive.org
Race entry form attached

Two from Roodie
Don’t forget to cast your nominations in this year’s Malvern Joggers Christmas Awards – voting ends this weekend.
I am also putting in another order for MJ hoodies if you have spoken to me recently please confirm your requirements in an e-mail or see me this Wednesday at MSJ.

Tues night hills on MONDAY this week!
From Jayne .....As I have to be away with work on Tues, I shall be doing hill reps on MONDAY evening this week. Usual time and place - 5:45 at Link Top car park. All welcome.
This is the last chance to join us at our starting distance of 8 reps of Cowleigh Bank! Next week we will be adding on an extra rep ....... :-) Hope to see you there
Wed night leaders rota
If anyone would like to join the Wed night leaders rota, please e-mail me on jayne.ackroyd@mac.com> I would particularly welcome volunteers to lead the Relaxed 10 group, so if you regularly run in that group please consider if you could lead the occasional run. Very many thanks!

Charity Appeal - Children In Need
From Sarah Grout - Anyone got spare time on Friday 18th Nov to dress up as a gnome for Children in Need? ...with BBC Hereford and Worcester. Need to have registered around midday and count takes place for world record breaking attempt at 12.30. ... and I'm selling gnome hats and beards in my shop in aid of Children in Need if you happen not to have them in your dressing up box!
Gnome Time with BBC Hereford & Worcester
Friday, November 18 at 10:00am

Next Tuesday’s hash
From Jim Apps - Maybe a bit far for most people but i am doing a hash from the freemasons arms in droitwich on tuesday if anybody is interested :) plus i will be back very shortly with the joggers as my shift patterns have now changed ie i am now on earlies :) yippee

Worcester Parkrun
See ..... http://www.parkrun.org.uk/worcester/results/clubhistory?clubNum=1693

Annual General Meeting
Don't forget to put a note in your diary for the A.G.M. on Wednesday 23 November at 8:15 p.m. for a prompt 8:30 start. The venue is the Vaughan Hall at Manor Park Sports Club.
There will be a club run as normal at 7:00 p.m. from Malvern St. James, but runs will be shorter to allow people to change before the A.G.M. (don't forget the changing facilities available at MSJ).
There is a bar at Manor Park, so refreshment will be available.

Malvern Joggers Christmas Party
From Steve Roode - Christmas is fast approaching and plans are afoot to give you Jogging party animals another great Christmas party (Andy Milton will fill you in with all the details soon). We usually have the Annual Awards presentation and this year will be no different so I would like your nominations for people you think deserve to be recognised in the following categories:-
BEST NEWCOMER, ROUTEMASTER/MISTRESS, WOODEN SPOON, MOST IMPROVED , BEST PERFORMANCE
TEAM OF THE YEAR, JOGGERS JOGGER, ALWAYS A PLEASURE – NEVER A CHORE, CLUB PERSON OF THE YEAR 2011
These are just some of the categories but if you feel that anyone deserves recognition for something they have done running wise then please feel free to nominate them, I am also looking for things from a fun aspect and not only a serious one. Many thanks in advance for spending the time to send me a reply.
I would appreciate it if you could have all votes into me by November 12th and please don’t include me in any of your votes – Jog On!!! ?
Cheers, Steve Roode Email ....steveroode1@yahoo.co.uk

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Tue 15/11 Hill Training - 5:45 at Link Top car park for a few reps of Cowleigh Bank
Wed 16/11 Club Run – Malvern St James Sports & Fitness Centre 7pm
Thu 17/11 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12 8-9pm Cost £2
Sat 19/11 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sun 20/11 Runway 10K – Staverton (CLC Striders)
Sun 20/11 Suicide Six(ish)
Wed 23/11 The MJ’s Annual General Meeting - Vaughan Hall - Manor Park Sports Club. 8.15 for 8.30pm start
Wed 23/11 Last day to apply for club LM places
Sun 27/11 Croome Capability Canter – Black Pear Joggers
Sun 4/12 MJ Cross-Country, Hundred House (Nr Builth Wells)
Wed 7/12 The Joggers Christmas party 7.30pm Malvern Rugby Club
Sun 11/12 Mortimer Forest 10
Mon 2/1 Fladbury Festive 5
Sun 8/1 MJ Cross-Country, Monkhall Farm
Sun 5/2 MJ Cross-Country, Presteigne
Sun 4/3 Droitwich Half Marathon

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 06 November 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Race Reports
Gloucester Cross Country League by Richard Love
MJ Junior, Holly Love, was the sole Malvern entry in this highly competitive event. In Holly’s Race (Girls Under 11) there was 46 entries. It’s a significant event, well organised with a great team atmosphere, many athletics club bring a mini marquee to establish a (dry) team base. Each race was over a different length, under 11 girls ran 1.67Km. It was a bit touch and go if Holly would compete, not feeling too well she showed great spirit in lining up against a field consisting almost entirely of Athletic Club runners, finishing with a respectable time of 9min 41secs. This will be a great league for MJ Juniors to compete in, we will lack the team depth of the big clubs but it is very competitive atmosphere and any MJ Junior who really gets into it will quickly see the benefits of joining a full Athletics Club and we can take pride in playing a roll it getting that youngster into competive running.
Thanks, Rich
Soweto marathon 6/11/11 by Chris Gooderham
Just to let you know, Emma managed to finish second in the Soweto marathon this morning in a time of 2 hours 44 minutes 9 seconds. This was a PB for her by about 9 minutes. The winning woman was only 17 seconds ahead. Emma is a bit battered and bruised. She said the men crowded her out during the first half of the race and she fell after about 13 km when she hit a speed bump. She has a gashed leg and bruising all down one side, but being her normal stubborn self continued to the finish. This also gets her an elite place at London next year and sits her number 1 in GB for her age group at marathon distance this year. We just hope she gets back to us safe and sound.
Thanks, Chris
SNOWDONIA MARATHON 2011 – RACE DAY (or The Agony and the Ecstasy)by Ian Dyson
Woke up early. Looked out of the window to see some clouds and a bit of blue sky. Weather forecast said rain and wind today. Hopefully the forecast is out by a few hours.
Breakfasted. Drove from Betws-y-Coed to Llanberis. Started drizzly rain at Capel Curig. Still not too bad!
Parked up and getting geared up. Raining harder now with a bit of wind. Base layer with club T-shirt over, then sweatshirt, fleece and anorak with tracky bottoms.
Twenty minute walk to the start, on a bit of straight road just outside Llanberis. Lots of people around so keeping warm in the crowd. Thinking like an Emperor Penguin and keeping on the inside of the crowd. I’m amazed that some people are dressed like Stuart Brown on a frosty QWednesday night i.e. bare arms and shorts.
There is no pushing and jostling to get to the start line. Chip timing means there is no need. Very civilised. The race starts bang (or hooter) on time.
I started off very conservatively, knowing that at some time in a marathon you are going to be faced with hard labour. No political connotations intended.
To get the liberal word over with, that would refer to the number of water stations. The first one after about 4 miles couldn’t cope with the demand. Probably because the pack was still close relatively close together. Thereafter, an excellent service. More at risk of drowning – not just from the rain – than dehydration.
I came across Duncan on the way up to Pen y pass, somewhere about 3 – 4 miles out. We spoke a few words – interrupted by someone who said, “Hi, I’m from Ledbury.” I suppose someone has to!
Anyway, that is when I “sprinted” (Duncan’s word) off, still conservatively.
On the way up to Pen y Pass the drizzly rain was still falling but no problem. The wind was blowing down the valley against us. However, we were in the lea of the little hill on our right (Snowdon or something).
Just over the top the wind was blowing behind us. The opposite direction from on the way up. You might think this shouldn’t be a problem. But, going downhill, trying to look after my soreish knee, and being conservative, it was a challenge.
At the bottom we turned right at the junction with the Beddgelert road. There were plenty of people here, giving good vocal support. The course took a track to the right of the main road. Very rough, loose stones but preferable to tarmac. I was concentrating on the ground, looking where to place feet and avoid potholes and/or stones. Something caught my eye. I looked up to find a big one-eyed TV camera staring straight at me. Intuitively I raised a smile and and waved inanely and probably ended up on the S4C cutting room floor.
Further down the path was smoother and sheltered form the wind and rain. I remember thinking how pleasant this was…. No wind, now feeling warm and going along smoothly. This wasn’t to last!
Through Beddgelert there were quite a few people again. A pub door was open. I was tempted but I had no cash on me, so kept going. It started uphill again. No problem to anyone who runs around Malvern regularly.
This bit got a bit samey. Not un-scienic, but a few miles road running. Passed 13 miles. Comfortable, except for my gloves dripping rainwater from the fingers.
Passed 17 ½ miles. This was my furthest training run distance. The time was 2:23. Almost 10 minutes ahead of my training time. The legs were feeling ok, but not with that warm glow of earlier – a little tired by now.
20 miles. Marathons are too long. I’ll stick to half marathons in future. It’s just too boring.
The wind was blowing left to right carrying the rain horizontally. A guy said, “It looks like we will have the wind behind us going up Waun Fawr.” I said in my usual cheery nature, “Unless it changes direction.”
21 miles. We started uphill again. The wind was behind as we went through the village of Waunfawr. Quite a few people out again, also soaking wet, giving good support. The hill got a bit steeper. My knee got to complain a bit more. We turned right to head towards the open fell. The wind turned left; to head towards us. Hard labour kicked in.
The other knee got in on the act of complaining. I had to walk. Someone coming up behind said, “Come on Malvern, you should be used to hills.” Just as well I couldn’t catch him!
Running again, power walking, running. Another cheery soul said, “Do you always run like that?” I reposted with, “Sometimes I look like an athlete!” Not now though. The groins were also complaining.
The terrain evened off. A bit of respite. It was a good view from up here. Can’t be far now!
24 miles. I had been warned about this. Downhill is supposed to be good. Thios was steep, rugged in places, grassy, very wet, treacherous. Road shoes on and 24 miles no longer in the tank. It was over a mile of agony going downhill. If there was a TV camera along here I don’t remember. I certainly didn’t raise a smile, inane or otherwise.
We hit the damp streets of Llanberis, and ever so closer to the finish. There were a lot of people here. Just on a right turn someone stepped out from the barrier. “Go on , Ian!” My brother, Neil.
What else can you do in these situations? I waved, picked up the pace and tried to look like an athlete.
Two hundred yards further on I crossed the line…. 3 hours 56 minutes on the clock. Rubbish!!!
A space blanket went around me, a piece of slate put in my hand. Ruth was there to greet me, just glad that I had finished. Not half as glad as I was.
Time for a cuppa tea and biscuit – ecstacy!
Thanks, ian
Great South Run 28/10/11 by Julie Caseley
Four Malvern Joggers turned up for the Great South Run at Portsmouth last Sunday - myself, Phil Jackson, Nick Hitchings and Alison Hughes. It was a lovely mild and fairly windless day so conditions were ideal. We were all in the Orange start. Elite women started at 10.40 and the elite men and Orange runners at 10.56 followed by the White and Green starts later. Everything appeared to go very smoothly considering there were 24,000 runners. The run itself is very flat and fast and the best part for me was going through the historic docklands and seeing HMS Victory. I hadn't run since Lake Vyrnwy Half Marathon in September due to injury so this was my comeback race. I decided to take it very steady and aim for a 1 hr 30 min finish. I was comfortable until 7 miles then I felt a little fatigued due to lack of training and general running but this was to be expected. I finished in 1:29:59 (job done!!), Nick in 1:08:07, Phil in 1:10:49 and Alison in 1:27:48. Thanks also to Paul and Samantha for their support. Well done all.
Thanks, Julie
Guy Fawkes 5, 6/11/11 by Chris Barker
While some decided to Slog it out down Sodbury way, I thought, sod that, I’m going to do the Guy Fawkes 5 at Tewkesbury. This has been a very popular event in the past with the MJs but this year it clashed with a few other events. Despite that, around 10 MJs took part this year. The race limit of 400 was reached before the event and on the day 351 took part, which makes you wonder what happened to the other 49 (stayed in bed?). I’m sure they would have enjoyed it had they been there.
It started as always in a narrow country lane about half a mile down the road from race HQ, Tewkesbury High School. The course consists of a flat pan-handle, on tarmac, rising to cross the M5 on two occasions. I trundled round in 41.08 That’s about it! I hope everyone enjoyed themselves at the Slog.

Forthcoming Event – Droitwich Half Marathon 4/3/12
Highly recommended by myself and probably Dunc and Catriona who also did it last year. Don’t wait until just before the event to pre-enter. You will probably be too late. The entry form is attached.

Two from Jayne A.........
Wed night leaders
We are very short of leaders for the 'Relaxed 10' group on a Wednesday evening. Please could I ask those who regularly run with this group to please consider volunteering to lead?
Any offers gratefully received! Many thanks.
Jayne’s email address is .... jayne.ackroyd@mac.com
Tues night session
We are continuing with hill reps on a Tues night between now and Xmas. Meet
5:45 Tues for 8 reps of Cowleigh Bank. All welcome!

CHANCE TO WIN AN iPOD TOUCH
The Telegraph has a competition to win an ipod touch. Just explain what motivated you to start running, why you love your favorite route or the music that gets you going etc.
Go to: telegraph.co.uk/myrun
Don't delay, it’s the last week of the competition.

Kit Department
From Roodie - I am in the process of doing a kit report for our treasurer and find that a number of people are still owing monies for kit, some may have forgotten or simply not seen me in a while, could I ask all of you to get a cheque to me asap. You can always pop it through my door at 75 Yates Hay Road, opposite Dyson Perrins school - your speedy response in this matter will be very much appreciated.
I am also going to put another Hoodies order in over the next week or so, if you require one then please e-mail me with your requirements - I also have a number of Hoodies awaiting collection.
Cheers, Steve email ....steveroode1@yahoo.co.uk

Worcester Parkrun
MJs Robert Kennedy, Vikki Sivertsen and Deb White did the Parkrun for the first time on Saturday. 30 MJs have now done one or more park runs. This free 5K race takes place every Saturday morning.
See ..... http://www.parkrun.org.uk/worcester/results/clubhistory?clubNum=1693

Tues night hill reps
From Jayne A. - We'll be doing hill reps each Tues night between now and Xmas. Meet at Link Top car park at 5:45.
This week we'll be doing 8 x 2 min reps up Cowleigh bank, and then we'll be adding an extra rep every 2-3 weeks.
Everyone can run at their own pace, so all welcome.

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Tue 8/11 Hill Training - 5:45 at Link Top car park for a few reps of Cowleigh Bank
Wed 9/11 Club Run – Malvern St James Sports & Fitness Centre 7pm
Thu 10/11 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12 8-9pm Cost £2
Sat 12/11 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sun 20/11 Runway 10K – Staverton (CLC Striders)
Sun 20/11 Suicide Six(ish)
Wed 23/11 The MJ’s Annual General Meeting - Vaughan Hall - Manor Park Sports Club. 8.15 for 8.30pm start
Wed 23/11 Last day to apply for club LM places
Sun 27/11 Croome Capability Canter – Black Pear Joggers
Sun 4/12 MJ Cross-Country, Hundred House (Nr Builth Wells)
Wed 7/12 The Joggers Christmas party 7.30pm Malvern Rugby Club
Sun 11/12 Mortimer Forest 10
Sun 8/1 MJ Cross-Country, Monkhall Farm
Sun 5/2 MJ Cross-Country, Presteigne
Sun 4/3 Droitwich Half Marathon

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 30 October 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Herefordshire Winter X-Country League
A message of thanks - On behalf of the Herefordshire Athletic Association and all the runners in the Cross Country League, may I express our gratitude to Malvern Joggers for the hospitality extended and hard work involved in putting on last Sunday’s race at Castlemorton Common. Your efforts are greatly appreciated.
Everyone I have spoken to enjoyed the event. Hereford Triathlon Club contacted me today asking me to pass on their congratulations for creating such an enjoyable event.
The longer distance for the women proved to be a success. Whether that proves to be the case as winter sets in remains to be seen.
Thanks again to all concerned. Best wishes, Mike Blenkinsop
And from one of the competitors....
I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed the cross country on Sunday, thank you to you all. It was a fabulous course, with very helpful and friendly marshalls! I enjoyed every minute of it. Please host more races in the future!
Becki Ansfield - Wye Valley Runners
A reminder about the remaining league races:
Race 2 - 13 November 2011 Croft Castle
Race 3 - 4 December 2011 Hunderd House (Nr Builth Wells)
Race 4 - 8 January 2012 Monkhall Farm
Race 5 - 5 February 2012 Presteigne
(All races start at 11.00 am)
If you plan to run the next race at Croft Castle on 13 November please let Jon Green know.
Email ..... green.jonathan@virgin.net

Worcester Parkrun
Well done to Debbie Russell, Sarah Hale, Nicky Baker and Laura Williams who all did the Worcester Park Run for the first time yesterday. 26 MJs have now done the event at least once. See them all on the Malvern Joggers page at
http://www.parkrun.org.uk/worcester/results/clubhistory?clubNum=1693

Discount for MJs
From Paul Newman - As the new Manager of Crown Trade paints Newtown rd Worcester, I am setting up an discount scheme for all Malvern Joggers, I will be putting trade discount cards into MSJ to give you all an extra discount on any paint and wall paper requirements. Just produce the card instore for your new discounted prices !
email .... paul@newman8840.fslife.co.uk

Race Reports
Snowdonia Marathon - Saturday 29th October by Duncan Cresswell
This is a FANTASTIC marathon and would highly recommend to runners of all abilities. Don't be put off by the course profile as it's not as bad as it appears, especially for all the Hill-Rep-ers. The organisation at the start and finish was good and the support from spectators dotted at many points along the route was brilliant. Whilst it was cold(ish), wet and windy, moral amongst runners was high and didn't dampen at all around the entire course. I'd been suffering with a cold (and still am) and was taken back with the views and scenery. Best bits were the downhills, short use of tracks and the final grassy bit. I ran the first half really well, but suffered with pains in the soles of my feet so a few stops and walking were needed at times, which was frustrating as my fitness levels were good and my legs in general were more than fine; I finished feeling fresh and full of energy. Hopefully some new orthotics will sort out the problem. I finished in a time of 4:35, which I was really pleased with, Ian Dyson sprinted round in 3:55 and Ruth Johnson flew it in 3:12. I would write more, but really you need to run it to appreciate it, you won't regret it :-)
Thanks, Dunc

Wed night leaders
Jayne again - I'm about to do the rota for the next few weeks of Wed night leaders. Would anyone else like to volunteer to join the rota? I'd really appreciate a few extra volunteers for each group. Many thanks.

Socks - Some stuff about socks from the O.S. website
What's the big deal about socks? Surely you can just pull on any old pair you have lying in your bottom drawer and they'll be fine. 3 pairs for a fiver at your local sports shop. Not so, wearing the right socks can make a huge difference to your enjoyment of outdoor activity, and help prevent all kinds of discomfort and injury.
If you haven't tried out some of the latest sock designs you'll be in for a pleasant surprise when you pull a pair on. A decent pair of socks can make a big difference to your experience, and there's a wide range on the market to choose from for walkers, runners and cyclists; all clambering to get pulled on. The longer the distance you plan to travel, the more you need to get a good set of socks for the job. Be kind to your feet.
If you're still not convinced, then perhaps a reminder of what can happen if you don't wear good socks will change your mind: blisters athlete's foot, fungal and bacterial infections sweaty, clammy, smelly feet, and inflammation of the toes, sole and nails
So now you're thinking of getting some good socks, what do you look for? It depends on what type of activity you're doing - walking, running and cycling socks are designed differently so that they protect the parts of your foot most likely to get in trouble. But the general 'good sock' principles are mainly the same.
What makes a good sock? Some would say that if the sock fits, wear it, but although there's truth in that, there are many other things to take into consideration when buying socks - here's a rundown of the main things to look out for.
Well-fitting Get the right size socks; this isn't as obvious as it sounds because socks often have a range a sizes such as 'fits sizes 8-10'; that's quite a big difference in shoe size. Some shops allow you to try on socks, but not many, so the rule of thumb is to get socks in the middle of your foot size, or slightly bigger. Try socks on at home on the carpet first to get a feel for them; you may be able to return if they're really no good.
Cushioning Strengthening of the main areas of rubbing and chafing such as: the toe box, heel, foot arch, Achilles tendon (back of ankle), ball and top of foot.
Protection - Odour reducing, breathable fabric mix, anti-microbial and anti-bacterial, moisture 'wicking' (letting air in, but allowing moisture to move out). The degree of warmth and insulation is also an issue of you intend to go anywhere out-of season. Loose fit padding, flat toe seams and double cuffs abound.
Weight - Runners and cyclists need a much lighter and thinner sock fabric than long distance walkers.
Length - Just above ankle length is ok to protect your foot from the inside of the boot or shoe (short), up the lower calf to the height of normal socks (medium), or cover higher up your calf for more warmth (high)
Seams - The smoother the seams and stitching, the less likely the socks will chafe, rub and irritate your feet.
Drying time - Some socks, usually the heavier walking kind can take a long time to dry out; check approximate drying time. The best plan is to take several pairs with you, especially on a longer multi-day route, so you always have a dry pair. Socks are best kept dry in sealable 'dry bags'.
Materials - Modern synthetics are often mixed with more naturally-occurring substances to create optimum level of durability, condition and shrink resistant, and insulation. Mixes can include: wool, nylon, merino wool, polyester, elastane and acrylics. Manufacturers use a certain mix of fabric types to alter the qualities of the sock, and they also produce their own branded mixes such as Coolmax.
and you thought that socks were just socks?

2012 LM Charity Appeal
From Sense - You may remember that I emailed you in September with an offer for your club runners to take part in the 2012 Virgin London Marathon for a reduced rate.
I know a lot of people were waiting to see if they were successful in the public ballot before applying. Now that the results are out, please could I ask you re-circulate the below and attached information to any of your runners that you thing might be interested?
We would love to have some of your runners on board, but we only have limited spaces available!
Please find further information below:
Sense has charity Gold Bond places available in the 2012 Virgin London Marathon and would really like to offer some to your club runners. In recognition of the time that club runners put into the sport, we are offering places with a discounted fundraising target of £1,200 (normal requirement is £1,500) + £100 registration fee.
We have attached a poster with all the details and we would be so grateful if you could email this to all runners and ask them to contact us directly if they would like a place. I have also attached some text which could be added to your club website if you have one.
If you have a club house or regular meeting place, please let me know and I can send you some promotional posters also.
Sense is a charity which raises funds to help adults and children who have sight and hearing difficulties. We have worked with deafblind people and their families for over 50 years and have set up services, campaigned for change and built up a worldwide reputation for our pioneering work.
Thank you so much for your help with this and I hope we can get some of your runners onboard!
If you have any questions or would like any further information, please do not hesitate to contact the Events team on 0845 127 0063 or email marathon@sense.org.uk.
Best Wishes, Tara Hamdi,Senior National Events Fundraiser , Sense, T.020 7014 9359 www.sense.org.uk
Address: Sense I 101 Pentonville Road I London I N1 9LG

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Tue 1/11 Hill Training - 5:45 at Link Top car park for a few reps of Cowleigh Bank
Wed 2/11 Club Run – Malvern St James Sports & Fitness Centre 7pm
Thu 3/11 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12 8-9pm Cost £2
Sat 5/11 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sun 6/11 Guy Fawkes 5 - Tewkesbury
Sun 13/11 Sodbury Slog
Sun 13/11 MJ Cross- Country, Croft Castle
Sun 20/11 Runway 10K – Staverton (CLC Striders)
Sun 20/11 Suicide Six(ish)
Wed 23/11 The MJ’s Annual General Meeting. Vaughan Hall - Manor Park Sports Club. 8.15 for 8.30pm start
Wed 23/11 Last day to apply for club LM places
Sun 27/11 Croome Capability Canter – Black Pear Joggers
Sun 4/12 MJ Cross-Country, Hundred House (Nr Builth Wells)
Wed 7/12 The Joggers Christmas party 7.30pm Malvern Rugby Club
Sun 11/12 Mortimer Forest 10
Sun 8/1 MJ Cross-Country, Monkhall Farm
Sun 5/2 MJ Cross-Country, Presteigne

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 23 October 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Some messages from our Secretary Geoff .....
Annual General Meeting
Don't forget to put a note in your diary for the A.G.M. on Wednesday 23 November at 8:15 p.m. for a prompt 8:30 start. The venue is the Vaughan Hall at Manor Park Sports Club.
There will be a club run as normal at 7:00 p.m. from Malvern St. James, but runs will be shorter to allow people to change before the A.G.M. (don't forget the changing facilities available at MSJ).
There is a bar at Manor Park, so refreshment will be available.
Virgin London Marathon Club Entries
If you have been unsuccessful in the VLM ballot, don't forget that the club has 3 places available through its affiliation with England Athletics. Place will be allocated by a draw at the Christmas Party, with 2 places for first-time London Marathoners and for a previous runner (But not for anyone who won a place in last year's club draw).
We have seven hopefuls so far, so if you want your name to go into the draw, let Geoff Field - geoff.field@lineone.net - know as soon as possible with some evidence that you have been rejected in the VLM ballot.

Herefordshire Winter X-Country League - Race 1 Castlemorton Common Sunday 23 October 2011
From Jon Green - This was the first race the MJs have hosted for the cross country league and it was a great success. A big thank you to all MJs and their families and friends who gave up their time to be involved: the course markers, the marshalls, the first aiders, the recorder, the refreshmenters (yes, I made that up), the car parking organisers, the Junior Joggers and, of course, the runners. There were around 30 people helping and around 20 MJs running. A fantastic turn out. I've received lots of positive feedback from the league organiser and the other clubs about all aspects of the race, so well done everyone. (I have to say that's it's a relief now that's it's over.) As I write this I don't yet have the results, but if I get them before the news letter goes out I'll forward then to Chris to include. I do however know that the MJs ladies A team of Emma, Ruth and Wendy were victorious in the ladies team event. So particular congratulations to them.
Finally a reminder about the remaining league races:
Race 2 - 13 November 2011 Croft Castle
Race 3 - 4 December 2011 Hunderd House (Nr Builth Wells)
Race 4 - 8 January 2012 Monkhall Farm
Race 5 - 5 February 2012 Presteigne
(All races start at 11.00 am)
Please let me know if you plan to run the next race at Croft Castle on 13 November.
You can contact Jon at..... green.jonathan@virgin.net

Race Reports
MJ Juniors Handicap 23/10/11 by Richard and Lisa
Alongside the Herefordshire Cross Country (hosted by the joggers) we ran a handicapped event for the juniors. We started just after the main event with 6 runners setting off at intervals based on a half mile time set last week. The course was 2km. With such excellent running they were all back, fully refreshed and fed on cakes (who made those lovely cakes?) well in time to watch the grownups finish (actually many of us got a little cold waiting). We received many very positive remarks from visitors who were pleased to see young people taking part, the Herefordshire League time keeper was especially impressed and I think would keep time for us next time. Hopefully in future junior events can be better intergrated into the senior events and invite a wider field of competitors rather than just youngsters with parents in the joggers. There was one non finisher.
H-Cap Handicapped TimeTime Course Time
Jack Dickenson 0:04:40 00:12:40 00:08:00
Adam Dickenson 0:03:35 00:13:23 00:09:48
Cameron Smy 0:03:02 00:12:47 00:09:45
Holly Love 0:02:00 00:12:58 00:10:58
Ellie Blanin 0:01:25 00:12:41 00:11:16

Abingdon Marathon 16/10/11 by Carl Anthony
Perfect weather conditions and a flat course, this had to be good? Race parking wasn’t great took ages to find a space then after a 15mins walk to start there wasn’t much time to get ready (so much for staying in a B&B so I would be there early). Race started on a running track with a small grandstand (not quite Amsterdam style) and then went out onto the outskirts of Abingdon. It was a cold morning but the sun was out, beautiful. After a very gentle uphill first mile the next 6 were very gradually downhill, difficult not to get carried away and run too fast. Calf started hurting at mile 5 but wasn’t slowing me down, so pressed on at ~7:50 pace. My Garmin was playing up as there were lots of overhead power cables, gained 1/10th mile somewhere, should have printed off a wrist band with mile times on. There is a big loop on the country roads that you do twice before coming back through the town. Had to cross roads several times but the marshalling was excellent with stop/go boards for the traffic. Was going well until mile 22, the last section is only very slightly uphill but I had nothing left, dropped 4mins in the last 4 miles. When you get back into Tilsley park there is a loop around the park before getting back to the running track for the grandstand finish. I managed a slight increase in speed over the last 50meters and crossed the line with my arms aloft, finishing in 3:29:13. Very happy that I’ve broken 3:30, so I can now retire from marathon running. Legs are a mess today (Monday) won’t be running for a while.
Thanks, Carl

Cardiff Half Marathon by Dominique Edwards 16/10/2011
Wow – what a fantastic experience! Who would have thought in March when Debs Russell suggested I come along to the joggers, I would now be commenting on my first half marathon!! Finishing times – Clare Hill 1.53.00 (even after holding back at the start to help us get our race right!) Dominique Edwards 2.00.15, Rebecca Pack 2.04.26,
Clare Hill, Rebecca Pack and I were interviewed by TFR - Track Field & Road (www.trackfieldandroad.tv) just before the race, adding to the excitement of the occasion. Clare’s description of the training certainly gave me a final reminder of the time and effort that we had put into the event. The weather was great and our supporters were ready, with cameras poised and instructions to get to mile 9 then back to the finish! I must confess to being extremely nervous and really didn’t know what to expect ….
Clare stayed with me for the first three and a half miles to ensure Becs’ and my pace was set; resulting in a slower start for our personal trainer. At that point I knew I could maintain that pace and made her start her own race. The route itself was actually very boring, with dual carriageways and long stretches throughout. However, even if it had been picturesque I’m not sure I was in the right frame of mind to take it in! With the great long stretches came no escape from the sun: conditions I was not expecting in October.
I got to 10k and realised I had beaten my previous 10k times! It was at that point I actually began to realise just how much I wanted to finish, but finish in the best time possible. At mile 9 came the sound of our fantastic husbands supporting all the MJs and taking brilliant photos!
I hit the ‘wall’ at mile 10 – a point where a lot of people on the route did, but a tap on the shoulder from a man behind me was all the motivation I needed to keep up the pace I had tried to maintain; a small gesture that meant so much.
The crowds got bigger and at the 13 mile marker were our supporters again. I knew the finish was just around the corner – looked at the Garmin and realised it was not possible for a sub 2 hours – only 15 seconds off a sub 2 hour! I crossed the line and what I had achieved hit me, I simply wanted to finish but to finish with that time was overwhelming. Clare was waiting for me – thinking of others as ever! Becs crossed the line just 4 minutes later – a massive achievement made all the more so due to her having a chest infection that week!
After another interview with TFR, and a quick faint we headed home. I still feel on a huge high even with manky toes and achy legs. Bring on Bath half marathon in March … target = sub two hours!!
Well done to all Malvern Joggers :o))
Thanks, Dominique

Snowdonia Marathon 29/10/11 OCTOBER 2011 (PROLOGUE) – Ian Dyson.
Next week I will be attempting the Snowdonia Marathon. The long, hard training is over. It should have been a bit longer and a bit harder, but age takes its toll. A few niggling injuries, niggle for a longer time than they used to. So, I have had to try to extend the runs, extend the number of runs, and extend the hills, while still resting enough to avoid more niggling niggles. The latest being a sore knee after the Beacon race.
Congratulations to all those MJ’s who got PB’s last week at Cardiff, Amsterdam and elsewhere.
I doubt that I will get anywhere near my marathon PB. Three hours and seventeen minutes, in the year 19dot. Not only was I young and fit back then, but Manchester is a little bit flatter than Snowdonia (although probably just as wet!). It also took me three minutes to reach the start line with a very big line up. They didn’t have chip timing then, computers hadn’t been invented. Chip timing next week, which the organisers probably need with 2000 runners.
Anyway, if I get anywhere near 3:40 (the time I did at the Cotswold Marathon in March) I will be very happy. Not least because it means that I have finished.
Because of the challenge of this one, and because a friend has recently been diagnosed with cancer, I’ve decided to run for Cancer Research UK. I left a sponsor form on the MJ notice board at MSJ last week, so you can support me that way or go online to www.runningsponsorme.org/iandyson. No amount too small (or too great)!
Only six days to go now. Time to rest.
Look out for the next exciting instalment in your MJ Club News… The race itself.
Hope to see you Wednesday, Ian.
Thanks, Ian

Lost & Found
Found after last Wednesday's club run:
One flourescent yellow arm band with flashing lights.
If you lost it, see Jenny or Geoff Field at the club run on Wednesday evening (or e-mail geoff.field@lineone.net)

Hill Training
From Jayne Ackroyd - You are invited to join me for a hill session on Tues evening. Meet 5:45 at Link Top car park for a few reps of Cowleigh Bank. All welcome.

Adidas Thunder Run
From Sundance .....Attention all adidas Thunder Runners! Entries for the 2012 TR24 will open on Tuesday the 1st November via the website. Get ready to run!
http://www.tr24.co.uk/index.ht
Last year The Malvern Joggers sent two 7 man teams to Catton Park Derbyshire to compete in this 24 hour relay, everyone who competed last year wants to do it again this year along with quite a few others, so far over 30 MJ's have said they would like to take part.
What is TR24? From Sundance
adidas Thunder Run is a 24 hour off-road relay race against the clock. Whether you run solo or in a team of 2-8 it'll test your tactics, endurance, speed and team work. It's an exhilarating, rewarding and tiring race with a great atmosphere. You'll find TR24 physically challenging and mentally tough but an experience not to be missed.
What to expect:
You can set up camp either the night before or the morning of the race to start soaking up the atmosphere. Once you're geared up, your first runner will assemble at the start line at 12pm and when the claxon goes, together you won't finish for 24 hours.
The rules:
One team member must be on the course at all times during the 24hrs. Runners must complete one full 10km lap before changing over with a team mate but may run 2, 3 or more laps at a time before changeover. The team with the most laps completed when the clock stops after 24hrs will win.
This year we will have both the 8 man teams from last year,
plus we have a solo runner in Megz Judge who is aiming to see how many 10k's she can compete in 24 hours,
we also have Tabitha "Lukes Skyrunners" 5 man all ladies team
Plus Clare Hill is hopefully bringing "Hills Angels" a mixed 8 team,
We should also have enough runners for one other team of 8,
So who else would like to join us ??
Paul’s email address is ...... paul@newman8840.fslife.co.uk

Circuit Training
A reminder about Circuit Training which starts this Thursday evening at Malvern St. James Sports Hall.
Sessions will be for 1 hour each, starting at 8:00 p.m. A small fee of £2:00 per session will be charged for each club member (guests £2:50, subject to space being available).
We have booked fortnightly sessions through to the end of March, making 13 sessions in all.
Please bring your fee along on Thursday night - it will be collected before the session.
Alternatively, you can sign up in advance for all 13 sessions at a reduced fee of £20:00. If you want to take advantage of this offer, please bring your cheque (or cash) with you to the firs session.
Hope to see you on Thursday (and Wednesday, of course) Geoff Field, Club Secretary

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Tue 25/10 Hill Training - 5:45 at Link Top car park for a few reps of Cowleigh Bank
Wed 26/10 Club Run – Malvern St James Sports & Fitness Centre 7pm
Thu 27/10 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12 8-9pm Cost £2
Sat 29/10 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sun 6/11 Guy Fawkes 5 - Tewkesbury
Sun 13/11 Sodbury Slog
Sun 13/11 MJ Cross- Country, Croft Castle
Sun 20/11 Runway 10K – Staverton (CLC Striders)
Sun 20/11 Suicide Six(ish)
Wed 23/11 The MJ’s Annual General Meeting. The Vaughan Hall at Manor Park Sports Club. 8.15 for 8.30pm start
Wed 23/11 Last day to apply for club LM places
Sun 27/11 Croome Capability Canter – Black Pear Joggers
Sun 4/12 MJ Cross-Country, Hundred House (Nr Builth Wells)
Sun 11/12 Mortimer Forest 10
Sun 8/1 MJ Cross-Country, Monkhall Farm
Sun 5/2 MJ Cross-Country, Presteigne

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 16 October 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

London Marathon Club Places
From Club Secretary Geoff - As you probably know, the club is allocated places in the Virgin London Marathon, based on the number of affiliated members it has (one place for every 50 1st claim members aged over 18 on the day of the race). With 170 qualifying members, we have three club places this year.
These places will be allocated by a draw, which will take place at the Christmas party.
To be eligible for the draw, applicants must:
Have paid their current year club subscription fee before 28 February 2011 (some flexibility will be allowed for delays in receiving / processing subscriptions, at the Committee's discretion)
Demonstrate that they have entered the ballot for 2012 London Marathon and been rejected
Not have been awarded a club place for the 2011 London Marathon)
Be an active member of the Club (to be decided by the Committee)
Eligible applicants will be entered for the draw, which will award places as follows:
2 first time London Marathon runners
1 previous London Marathon runner (subject to 3. above)
To enter for the Club draw, please contact the Club Secretary by 23 November 2011 (contact details below) with evidence of rejection from the 2012 London Marathon ballot.
Good luck! Geoff Field Club Secretary e-mail geoff.field@lineone.net

Herefordshire Winter X-Country League Race 1 Castlemorton Common 11.00 am Sunday 23 October 2011
From Jon Green - Just a reminder, that we are hosting this race next Sunday. Many thanks to all those who have volunteered to help. Everything is organised. We're expecting around 125 runners from 12 clubs. What we could do with now is some more MJs to run or if you really don't fancy running come along and watch! (Course map attached.) Many thanks and regards, Jonathan
green.jonathan@virgin.net or 079 7416 8577)

MJ Juniors
From Andy Dickenson... We will be running a handicap Cross Country race for Junior runners next Sunday. We will be starting immediately after the main XC league race on Castlemorton Common and will be back before the main field return from their 7 miles. Please encourage your young runners to take part and enjoy the fun of the handicap system.
We will meet at the start on Castlemorton Common at 10.30. Those not sure where the start is can meet at Welland Village Hall at 10.15 and we will jog down. There will be no meeting at MSJ next Sunday consequently.

Race Reports
Amsterdam Marathon 16/10/11 by Vikki Sivertsen
Sub title... Jerry was my pacemaker!
Finishing times - Jerry Greer 3.18.49, Vikki Sivertsen 3.20.01, Phil Jackson 3.21.41, Ginny Sharp 4.22.38
All joggers PB'd and official gun time results show that Phil and myself were both first Brits in our age groups to finish and neither of us used a bus or had a baby at the finish!
Perfect running conditions, the course is pancake flat apart from the little rises over the bridges - which were noticeable towards the end.
The support and encouragement from the logistics team of Team "webfletchackroydsharp" was much appreciated and the finish in the 1928 Olympic stadium was the highlight of the whole marathon experience.
And as for Amsterdam, with all it's attractions both aesthetic and erotic - not to mention stoned mice.....we can't understand why Roodie went to Cardiff ! Vikki (one bloody second) Sivertsen.
Thanks, Vikki

From Acorns - 2012 Virgin London Marathon
As excitement builds for the Great Birmingham Run many of you are already looking forward to the 2012 London Marathon! Virgin has now announced the results of their ballot so, if you have applied, you should now know whether you've been successful or not in securing a place.
Secured a place?
If you've been lucky enough to secure a place, congratulations and good luck! We'd love you to use your place to fundraise for Acorns - contact us to join our team. All runners in our team will receive a fundraising pack, an Acorns running vest, and be invited along to socials events in the run up to the event. (There is no minimum fundraise to join the team).
Still looking for a place?
If you didn't manage to get your own place, we have a small number of guaranteed places available through our London Marathon ballot. If you would like to apply don't miss out - the ballot closes on Tuesday 18th October!

The Next Joggers Walk
From Eric - A walk is planned for Sat 22 October over the moors at the head of the Elan Valley-approx 7 miles.
Lunch will probably be at the Elan Valley Hotel afterwards.Early start and full mountain walking kit essential.
If interested plse contact Eric elbromage@talktalk.net so that I can confirm numbers for lunch.

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Wed 19/10 Club Run – Malvern St James Sports & Fitness Centre 7pm
Thu 20/10 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12 8-9pm Cost £2
Sat 22/10 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sat 22/10 MJs Walking Group - Elan Valley approx 7 miles (see Eric)
Sun 23/10 Stroud Half Marathon
Sun 23/10 MJ Cross-Country - Castlemorton Common inc MJ Juniors race
Sun 23/10 Birmingham Half Marathon
Sun 6/11 Guy Fawkes 5 - Tewkesbury
Sun 13/11 Sodbury Slog
Sun 13/11 MJ Cross- Country, Croft Castle
Sun 20/11 Runway 10K – Staverton (CLC Striders)
Sun 20/11 Suicide Six(ish)
Sun 27/11 Croome Capability Canter
Sun 4/12 MJ Cross-Country, Hundred House (Nr Builth Wells)
Sun 11/12 Mortimer Forest 10
Sun 8/1 MJ Cross-Country, Monkhall Farm
Sun 5/2 MJ Cross-Country, Presteigne

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 09 October 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Calling our Cardiff Half Marathon runners
From Andy Milton - To all those running the Cardiff Half Marathon, I have organised a buffet and drinks for after the race at the TA centre which is not far from the finish.
If you wish to come along it is £5.00 pp. Please can you let me know by Tuesday (11th) if you intend to come.
email .... themiltons4@hotmail.com

Cardiff Half Marathon place available
From Andy Dickenson - Cardiff half marathon place available from one of my work colleagues. Call me on 07773917095 if you want it.

Race Reports
The Beacon Race 8/10/11 by Chris Barker
I like the race but I don’t like the training (running the route beforehand) so I didn’t do any. After registering a PW of 1.15 last year I decided to call it a day on the event. But who can quit! I can’t as I found myself being called back for another go. It only comes around once a year so miss it and it’s a long time until the next one. It was number 11 for me after my first one in 2000. After all, I couldn’t take longer than last year could I? And could I improve on 22 runners behind me at the finish. There’s no Beacon 5K for those that want an easier time so I had to give it another go. I love the Beacon Race it’s just a pity it doesn’t love me but conditions were perfect so no excuse this time.
Also, could it be another good day for the MJs in an event where we usually end up winning something.
233 runners tackled the 6.75 mile event this year with around 30 MJs taking part, so plenty of competition. As it turned-out we did rather well winning the team prize for the first time. Our winning team members were Emma Gooderham, John Bristow and Ruth Johnstone. Our other prize winners were first lady Emma, second lady Ruth, first local man John Bristow, first local lady Ruth Johnstone and first lady vet (35-44) Sharon White
I’m sure you’re desperate to know how I got on, or perhaps not....so, The Big Cheese Beacon Race part 2 ....continued.... Not able to keep pace with any of the above assorted whippets and racing snakes I trundled on best I could and although I didn’t feel like I was going any quicker I actually managed to knock 5 minutes off last year’s time. How did that happen?I’m ready for next year..... Second Saturday in October 2012. Count me in!
The results are available on the Worcester AC website.

Forthcoming Race
Croome Capability Canter 27/11/11
From the Black Pear Joggers - Please find attached an invitation to the 2012 Croome Capability Canter at Croome Park. We look forward to welcoming you and your members to this race in a beautiful country park.
With all good wishes.

LM – Charity Places Available
Exciting news!! We have a number of places for the Virgin London Marathon next year.
If you are interested in running the London Marathon and fundraising for Caudwell Children, please fill in the attached enquiry form and send it back to me as soon as possible. The deadline for places is Thursday 20th October.
Kind regards, Joanne Condliffe
Challenge Event Co-ordinator, Caudwell Children, tel 01782 600 435, fax 01782 600 639
e. joanne.condliffe@caudwellchildren.com w. www.caudwellchildren.com

Ideas for Next Social
From Andy M .....Your votes please, I've been trying to come up with ideas to put to the social committee for our next party...would you like Kareoke Disco party plus either .....
A Zumba party ! A Merenge Caribean party ! A Salsa Party ! A Line Dance party ! Or a mix of Cuban, Cha Cha Cha, etc Or just a Curry party (no music) Positive Feedback required please, any other suggestions ??

Park Run
The Worcester Parkrun continues to grow in popularity with the MJs. 17 Malvern Joggers have now done at least one Parkrun with Saturdays first-timers being Dominique Edwards, Rebecca Pack and Jennifer Neale. 17 MJs have now done this event at least once.
And from Richard Ralphs, Event Director Worcester Parkrun.......
‘Thanks for the mention in the blog and it was good to see Nigel Sewel win last week, for more stats of Malvern Joggers performance at parkrun go to http://www.parkrun.org.uk/worcester/results/clubhistory?clubNum=1693,
There are 95 parkruns in the UK with, 185,760 runners, Bushy Park had 802 runners last week, but our Worcester parkrun is the best (thumps chest). Regards, Richard
Worcester parkrun is a weekly free to enter 5k run based at Worcester Wood Countryside Centre.
What is Worcester parkrun? It is a 5km run - it's you and everyone else against the clock.
When is it? Every Saturday at 09:00
Where is it? It’s run in Worcester Woods Country Park - Countryside Centre
What does it cost to join in? Nothing - it's free! but please register in advance.
Register at this site http://www.parkrun.org.uk/Register.aspx
How fast do i have to be? We all run for our own enjoyment. Please come along and join in whatever your pace!
Where do I get my results and learn more?
Your results are posted the same day, and we provide league tables, age graded results, and race reports at http://www.parkrun.org.uk/worcester/
From me – The Worcester Parkrun continues to grow in popularity with the Malvern Joggers

Charity Appeal
From ‘Refuge’ - My name is Jessica and I work for Refuge which is the country’s leading single provider of emergency accommodation and specialist support for women and children experiencing domestic violence. Every day we support over 1.600 women and children. One of the ways we do this is to generate money through our running events such as the London and Brighton Marathons. We are currently recruiting runners and I was wondering if your running members would like to join Refuge runners and take part in this event!
At Refuge, our runners are very important to us as they make up a vital part of our fundraising. We do everything we can to support runners every step of the way. We offer a free Refuge t shirt or professional running vest, a training plan, a full running pack containing training, nutrition and fundraising advice, a free online fundraising page. Furthermore, our London Marathon runners are offered a training event with a running expert in the run up to the event, a pre-race meet up and a post-race reception complete with showers, massage and refreshments. We have a relatively small running team so we really are able to offer one-to-one support – as one of our 2011 runners said: “I thought Refuge were amazing in their support and guidance. I really felt a valued part of the team”.
Please get in contact jessica_madeley@refuge.org.uk if you want to take part or if you have found someone who can run for Refuge! With best wishes, Jess

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Wed 12/10 Club Run – Malvern St James Sports & Fitness Centre 7pm
Sat 15/10 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9 am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Thu 13/10 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12 8-9pm Cost £2
Sun 16/10 Cardiff Half Marathon
Sun 16/10 Amsterdam Marathon (see Roodie)
Sat 22/10 MJs Walking Group - Elan Valley approx 7 miles (see Eric)
Sun 23/10 Stroud Half Marathon
Sun 23/10 MJ Cross-Country - Castlemorton Common
Sun 23/10 Birmingham Half Marathon
Sun 6/11 Guy Fawkes 5 - Tewkesbury
Sun 13/11 Sodbury Slog
Sun 13/11 MJ Cross- Country, Croft Castle
Sun 20/11 Runway 10K – Staverton (CLC Striders)
Sun 20/11 Suicide Six(ish)
Sun 27/11 Croome Capability Canter
Sun 4/12 MJ Cross-Country, Hundred House (Nr Builth Wells)
Sun 11/12 Mortimer Forest 10
Sun 8/1 MJ Cross-Country, Monkhall Farm
Sun 5/2 MJ Cross-Country, Presteigne

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 02 October 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

MJ Juniors Up and Running!
From Andy Dickenson - 15 young runners turned out for the first session of the MJ Juniors. In what was probably some of the hottest weather they will experience it was a tough start but the young athletes acquitted themselves well in the difficult conditions to complete the session at MSJ on Sunday morning. We hope to grow from our initial numbers and be able to open membership wider eventually but in the meantime if any MJ members have a budding Mo or Paula itching to get running then come along next Sunday to MSJ at 10.30. We meet at the Pavilion which is on the grass below the astro pitch. Well done to all the young runners who turned out today with such enthusiasm and we look forward to seeing you next week.
Lisa, Sam, Andy and Andy

MJs Next Social
From Andy Milton - We will be having a Joggers social in the Star in Cowleigh Road on Sat 8th Oct starting at 19.30. This is a Chinese restaurant/pub.
This will also be an opportunity for those who have run the beacon race to come and celebrate which we have done in the past.
To get an idea of numbers please could Joggers e-mail me on themiltons4@hotmail.com

MJs Champions League
The next race on the Champions League is the Beacon Race on 8 October.

Race Reports
Cricklade Half Marathon 2/10/11 by Vikki Sivertsen
It was the Cricklade half marathon today, MJ’s present: Phil Jackson, Amanda Dawson and me. This was my build up race ready for the Amsterdam marathon in 2 weeks. The usual pre marathon race dilemma of “Do I race it or do I marathon pace it”...well despite the really hot weather I decided to race it, I started well, sadly produced a magnificent positive split (ooer missus) and finished with a 1:33 something, over a minute slower than my PB but really happy with 4th lady overall and 1st female vet age 35 – 50 (which seems like a very large age group to me, especially as I fall into the latter part of it!) Phil paced it, and Amanda got PB...so smiles all round. The route was lovely and also flat by anyone’s standards. The marshalls were plentiful as were the water stations and supporters. However, prize giving was a bit of a sham and a few mistakes had to be rectified ...ie first placed male and female....? No goody bag, but we did get a medal and I had a trophy as my first female Vet prize. (Entry fee was only £12, which isn’t bad for a half) As well as the half marathon there is also a 10k and a fun run, so something for everyone. On the whole a nice event and I would recommend it to any Joggers thinking of doing it next year, when hopefully it will be a bit cooler !

Kit Department
Roodie is asking, does anyone want a Hoodie. Please let him know as he will be putting an order in soon, add size, what name you prefer printed, and whether its zip or no zip .... steveroode1@yahoo.co.uk

Herefordshire Winter X-Country League 2011/ 2012 (From Jon Green - green.jonathan@virgin.net or 079 7416 8577)
Wanted - Qualified First Aider to be in attendance at Malvern Joggers' Winter X-Country League race on Sunday 23 October 2011. The race starts at 11.00 am, so we need a suitable person to be present from around 10.45 am to 1.00 pm.

Ideas for Next Social
From Andy M .....Your votes please, I've been trying to come up with ideas to put to the social committee for our next party...would you like Kareoke Disco party plus either .....
A Zumba party !
A Merenge Caribean party !
A Salsa Party !
A Line Dance party !
Or a mix of Cuban, Cha Cha Cha, etc
Or just a Curry party (no music)
Positive Feedback required please, any other suggestions ??

Park Run
From the organiser’s of this weekly event .....
Worcester parkrun is a weekly free to enter 5k run based at Worcester Wood Countryside Centre.
What is Worcester parkrun?
It is a 5km run - it's you and everyone else against the clock.
When is it?
Every Saturday at 09:00
Where is it?
It’s run in Worcester Woods Counrtry Park - Countryside Centre
What does it cost to join in?
Nothing - it's free! but please register in advance.
Register at this site http://www.parkrun.org.uk/Register.aspx
How fast do I have to be ?
We all run for our own enjoyment. Please come along and join in whatever your pace!
Where do I get my results and learn more?
Your results are posted the same day, and we provide league tables, age graded results, and race reports at http://www.parkrun.org.uk/worcester/

From Chris .... Well done to Lynda Walford and Paul Hill who did the Worcester Parkrun on Saturday, for the first time. 14 MJs have now done this event at least once. Well done also to MJ Nigel Sewell who was Saturday’s winner.

Herefordshire Winter X-Country League 2011/ 2012 (From Jonathan Green - green.jonathan@virgin.net or 079 7416 8577)
Wanted - Qualified First Aider to be in attendance at Malvern Joggers' Winter X-Country League race on Sunday 23 October 2011. The race starts at 11.00 am, so we need a suitable person to be present from around 10.45 am to 1.00 pm.
And .....
The Big News is that Race 1 on Sunday 23 October 2011 will be hosted by Malvern Joggers! A 7 mile course has been devised utilising part of the MJ's 10k race route and incorporating a 2 lap loop. It should be challenging enough for most. As with our 10k, the race will be based at Welland Village Hall, with the start/ finish on Castlemorton Common. We already have a good core of volunteers, but need a few more people to marshall, a couple of people to look after some post race tea and biscuits or cake and a couple of people to oversee car parking. Please let me know if you can spare some time to help make this event a success and in doing so promote the MJs.
The full race fixtures are:
Race 1 - 23 October 2011 Castlemorton Common
Race 2 - 13 November 2011 Croft Castle
Race 3 - 4 December 2011 Hunderd House (Nr Builth Wells)
Race 4 - 8 January 2012 Monkhall Farm
Race 5 - 5 February 2012 Presteigne
All races start at 11.00 am.
Good news for the ladies; in a break with tradition, ladies will be running the same race distance as the men at Castlemorton Common, Hunderd House and Monkhall Farm.
I now have the race numbers to allocate. If you want to run some or all of the races and you haven't already let me know, please email or text me asap. The club has paid the entry fee, so as long as you're a paid up MJ, there's no individual race entry fees to be paid.

Request for new Wed night leaders
Message from Jayne A ( jayne.ackroyd@mac.com )
Would anybody new like to volunteer to join the Wed night leaders rota, as I am running a little short of willing volunteers!
I'm also short of leaders for the following dates & groups, so if anyone would be able to volunteer to lead these groups as a one-off it would be
appreciated:
12/10 'Strict' 10 min mile group
12/10 'Relaxed' 10 min mile group

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Wed 5/10 Club Run – Malvern St James Sports & Fitness Centre 7pm
Sat 8/10 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9 am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sat 8/10 Worcestershire Beacon Race
Sat 8/10 Joggers Social - Star Inn, Cowleigh Road on Sat 8th Oct 19.30.
Thu 13/10 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12
Sun 16/10 Cardiff Half Marathon
Sun 16/10 Amsterdam Marathon (see Roodie)
Sat 22/10 Next outing of MJs Walking Group - Elan Valley approx 7 miles
Sun 23/10 Stroud Half Marathon
Sun 23/10 MJ Cross-Country, Moor Park (Nr Ludlow)
Sun 13/11 MJ Cross- Country, Croft Castle
Sun 4/12 MJ Cross-Country, Hundred House (Nr Builth Wells)
Sun 8/1 MJ Cross-Country, Monkhall Farm
Sun 5/2 MJ Cross-Country, Presteigne

MSJ
We are very pleased to run from Malvern St James Sports Centre during the winter. As well as a great place to meet Malvern Joggers get:-
Free car parking, Free hot showers and clean toilets, 10% discount in the shop if they are an MJ
No joining fee for membership and a 20% discount on the monthly fee for gym, classes and swimming pool
No joining fee for membership and a 20% discount on the monthly fee for swimming pool use
A range of classes open to MJ’s on a drop in basis
A warm bar with cheap bottled beers

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 25 September 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Herefordshire Winter X-Country League 2011/ 2012 (From Jonathan Green - green.jonathan@virgin.net or 079 7416 8577)
The Big News is that Race 1 on Sunday 23 October 2011 will be hosted by Malvern Joggers! A 7 mile course has been devised utilising part of the MJ's 10k race route and incorporating a 2 lap loop. It should be challenging enough for most. As with our 10k, the race will be based at Welland Village Hall, with the start/ finish on Castlemorton Common. We already have a good core of volunteers, but need a few more people to marshall, a couple of people to look after some post race tea and biscuits or cake and a couple of people to oversee car parking. Please let me know if you can spare some time to help make this event a success and in doing so promote the MJs.

The full race fixtures are:
Race 1 - 23 October 2011 Castlemorton Common
Race 2 - 13 November 2011 Croft Castle
Race 3 - 4 December 2011 Hunderd House (Nr Builth Wells)
Race 4 - 8 January 2012 Monkhall Farm
Race 5 - 5 February 2012 Presteigne
All races start at 11.00 am.

Good news for the ladies; in a break with tradition, ladies will be running the same race distance as the men at Castlemorton Common, Hunderd House and Monkhall Farm.

I now have the race numbers to allocate. If you want to run some or all of the races and you haven't already let me know, please email or text me asap. The club has paid the entry fee, so as long as you're a paid up MJ, there's no individual race entry fees to be paid.

MJs Junior Section
From Richard and Lisa - STOP PRESS!! MJ Juniors to start Sunday 2nd October. Sessions will be held on Sundays between 10.30 and 11.30 am, we will initially be using the MSJ sports fields and have full access to the changing and refreshment facilities. The aim of the group is to encourage young people between the ages of 10 & 16 to participate in a variety of running based activities, to improve fitness, to enjoy running and to generally have fun. The MJ Juniors is initially only open to children whom parents/ guardians are members of the Malvern Joggers and sessions are currently free. The sessions will include warm up and warm down activities, alongside a fun running based challenge. Refreshment will be provided at the end of the session for juniors. The sessions will be led by Andrew Blannin, Andrew Dickenson, Sam Burnage and Lisa Dainty, who have all recently completed a UKA Leadership in Fitness training course.
Children should be suitably clothed, preferably t- shirt, shorts or jogging bottoms with an extra layer for warm up / down and suitable trainers. You will be required to complete a membership form prior to the first session, just so we have basic details, emergency numbers etc. (These will hopefully be available before next Sunday or on the day so come a little earlier to fill one in if you have not already done so).
Below is the Schedule for Autumn Term
Note: Schedule subject to change depending on group numbers and capabilities

Day Date Venue Event

Sun 02/10/2011 MSJ Training

Sun 09/10/2011 MSJ Training

Sun 16/10/2011 MSJ Training

Sun 23/10/2011 MSJ Junior Handicap 1

Sun 30/10/2011 �MSJ Training

Sat 05/11/2011 Gloucester Gloucs XC League 2

Sun 13/11/2011 MSJ Training

Sun 20/11/2011 MSJ Training

Sun 27/11/2011 MSJ Junior Handicap 2

Sun 04/12/2011 MSJ Training

Sat 11/12/2011 Cheltenham Gloucs XC League 3

Sun 18/12/2011 MSJ Fancy Dress Handicap with spot prizes

We would also like more volunteer Joggers who would be willing to spare some time to help with the running or organisation of the MJ Juniors - please let us know if you are interested or have any question. Thanks. Lisa Dainty 07950121610, Andy Dickenson 07773917095.

Tues night speed training
Message from Ginny .....this week is hill reps, so meet 5:45 at Link Top Car Park.
ginnysharp@btinternet.com

Request for new Wed night leaders
Message from Jayne A ( jayne.ackroyd@mac.com )
Would anybody new like to volunteer to join the Wed night leaders rota, as I am running a little short of willing volunteers!
I'm also short of leaders for the following dates & groups, so if anyone would be able to volunteer to lead these groups as a one-off it would be
appreciated:
28/9 'Relaxed' 10 min mile group
28/9 9:30 min mile group
12/10 'Strict' 10 min mile group
12/10 'Relaxed' 10 min mile group

Race Reports
Black Mountains Fell Race 24th Sept by Richard Love
I did this out of bloody minded self determination. having had the summer off I felt the need to prove I could still get round a toughish course. At 17 miles with 5,000 feet of ascent this makes it into an A Long category fell race. My race plan was to not do my usual take off like a bullet and suffer at the finish and make back in one piece. Well I set off at a sensible pace but still suffered at the end but I got round in a reasonable time (a shade over 3:30) in 34th place out of a small field of 60+ runners. Near perfect conditions made for a very pleasant run across beautiful scenery, during most of the course there were no building in sight and the only sounds to be heard were runners or nature - marvelous. With such a small field my normal navigation technique of following the guy in front broke down a bit, often finding myself completely on my own, but with such god visibility getting seriously lost was unlikely. At the finish I was welcomed back by a woman who enquired whether I'd got lost, turns out she organised the marshaling at Bredon.
On a separate note I met the former organiser of the Mayhill Massacre, he's been doing for years and had enough, without anyone else to take over the reins it will now be run commercially, £8 this year, £15 next and likely to rise more in the future. He added a lot of races in Gloucestershire were going the same way - its really important clubs keep organising races, club run events are not only cheaper but ... well friendlier.
Thanks, Rich
Gentle Joggers @ Cirencester 10k 25th September by Jenny Field
8 Malvern Joggers turned out for this one 4 of us being Gentle Joggers. It’s a lovely course only one hill that's not too long. It’s all through park land so is traffic free and on tarmaced paths. Perfect weather with a fine drizzle 3/4 of the way round to cool you down. (faster runners may have missed this drizzle, shame) Nicky Baker running her 2nd 10k bettered her time by 5 mins taking 1.03mins.
Laura and Liza also doing their second 10k also bettered their times so a very good show by Gentle Joggers.
I would encourage anyone to go in for this one.
Ps I did 1.07 which is 2 mins. faster then my last 10k at Crowle
Upton Bishop Big Dipper 25/9/11 by Chris Barker
The 2011 running of the aptly named Big Dipper took place this morning. This is a race which has enjoyed some good weather in previous years but not so this morning. But there’s nothing like continuous rain for keeping you cool as you make your way around this 5.6 miles road race. A massive entry of 96 runners took part (about 50% up on last year) which is a good number. Anymore might create logistical problems for the organisers. MJs responded well to my suggestion that they might give it a go with around 10 of us taking part, well up on last year. For those who haven’t done it in the past, it may be one to avoid if you don’t like hills although the last one is a down and takes you pretty well to the finish over the last half mile. In past years the race memento has been a Big Dipper towel – just the job this year given the weather but this year all finishers received a BD mug. No prizes for the MJs but some good performances in this odd-distance non-PB course. I actually managed to improve on last year’s time by 1m15s quicker than last year. First time I’ve done that for a while.

Worcester Park Run
From Terry Tuckley - Val and I had a go at the Worcester Park Run today which was great fun, free to enter, and very well organised just like you said!
Val did The Joggers proud with a best time for her age group in the series so far.
From Chris – Twelve MJs have now done this 5K event with the Nick Hitchings being the fastest in 19.03
Anyone else like to give it a go? www.parkrun.org.uk

Emma’s Latest Success
Today Malvern Jogger’s Emma Gooderham became the new Commonwealth Champion after competing in the 50k trail event in Anglesea North Wales
She says " I am off to the awards ceremony and paaarrttyy! I will be the one asleep in the corner! 33.36 miles in 3.53.58 - done. Tough course going on soft sand, up and down dunes, through 'undulating' forest, and very windy on beach - but absolutely fantastic. I may be a trail convert, must buy myself some trail shoes now"

Wednesday Night Run
Wed night run 28th Sept strict 10's with cookie monster
I reccy'd a run today in prep for weds night. Please bring head torches or any torch if poss as we will be going off road and i doubt if the light will be good - the cookie monster

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Wed 28/9 Club Run – Malvern St James Sports & Fitness Centre 7pm
Sat 1/10 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9 am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sat 1/10 May Hill Challenge
Sun 2/10 Hope Valley Run (Hereford)
Sun 2/10 Shuttle 10K - Stourport
Sun 2/10 Burnham-on-Sea Half Marathon (very flat)
Sat 8/10 Worcestershire Beacon Race
Thu 13/10 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12
Sun 16/10 Cardiff Half Marathon
Sun 16/10 Amsterdam Marathon (see Roodie)
Sun 23/10 Stroud Half Marathon
Sat 22/10 Next outing of MJs Walking Group - Elan Valley approx 7 miles
Sun 23/10 MJ Cross-Country, Moor Park (Nr Ludlow)
Sun 13/11 MJ Cross- Country, Croft Castle
Sun 4/12 MJ Cross-Country, Hundred House (Nr Builth Wells)
Sun 8/1 MJ Cross-Country, Monkhall Farm
Sun 5/2 MJ Cross-Country, Presteigne

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 18 September 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Take a break? –or - Active Rest:
From Barry Swindells - If you’ve had a busy summer racing, for two weeks or so in September you should easy of from training or racing to recharge your bodies batteries, get rid of those niggling little injuries and prepare for the general conditioning or endurance phase of the years training plan.
Cycling, swimming and walking are fine but no matter how tempting tries not to run.
Use the spare time to plan your realistic training programme for the forthcoming season and determine what goals you would like to achieve. Having a monthly schedule broken down into weekly modules takes the uncertainty away from the training and there’s a better chance of getting through this first training period.
Come the beginning of October through to January the plan should be to increase the intensity of the workout. Building endurance and strength.
Working on a monthly cycle subdivided into a weeks worth of sessions increase the mileage gradually and weekly up to the end of the year.
How far to run per week depends on you personal goal. The training should commence with steady running and medium paced interval runs for the first week or so before getting into the serious winter training plan. The workouts should involve long hill reps say 5 x 5 minutes with jog back recoveries. Tempo runs 10 mins slow, 10 medium paced and 10 fast. Don’t forget to include Stuart’s circuit training sessions at the gym. proceeded by a 2 mile warm up in to the plan. The week should also include a long weekend run of 75 to 90 minutes.
Finally do not forget to include a rest day (or two).
Hope someone finds this useful. Barry

Our Emma
From Paul Newman ..... Our new World Championships winner Emma Gooderham was interviewed on Marathon talk on Wednesday, for those who have yet to discover the delights of Marathon talk it’s a free podcast that comes out every Wednesday on I Tunes you can find links on www.marathontalk.com or on facebook. Emma is an inspiration to everyone who's met her, if anyone hasn't heard her story I'd recommend tuning in. She has some lovely things to say about The Malvern Joggers and we couldn't wish for a better ambassador than her.

Remedial Sports Massage
From Tonia Jones - I run with the joggers every Wednesday and have just put a notice on the board in MSJ sports centre.
I am a Remedial and Sports Massage Therapist with over 10 years experience. I am offering an ongoing discount for all Malvern Joggers on both hour long and 30 minute treatments (making an hour £30 and 30 minutes £18).
Treatments can reduce injury, improve performance and rehabilitate post injury. Also offered is advise on stretching.
Thanks, Tonia email ... tonia@massage-malvern.co.uk
And also from Rachel Pryce-Jones
Firstly let me introduce myself, my name is Rachel Pryce-Jones and I have just moved to Malvern Wells from Gamecock Barracks in Nuneaton.
My Husband Nick has been posted to Shrivenham for a year and not wanting to continue living the nomadic life style we decided to set down roots in the wonderful countryside.
Whilst we were at the Barracks I offered a mobile Sports Massage facility supporting the following:
Core Rugby team, Path Finder, PTis/QMSi, Serving Soldiers, Tug of war team
My Husband is himself a keen distance runner, who is always training for something from Triathlons to marathons, which is why in the first place I took up
Sports Massage. I know once I have worked on his legs he feels a new man. I am happy to provide reference and certificates if required.
If this is something your members would be interested in, then I would gladly come along for a chat to explain more.
As a guide my costs are as follows: 2 x legs = £10
lower back + shoulders £12 which is much cheeper than most massages.
I am very professional, friendly and easy to get a long with, I aim to make people feel at ease especially if they are under the impression that all sports massage has to hurt or it's no good!
This is based on a block booking either at an agreed place, after an event (the following day) The cost goes up slightly if its required at a persons house and for one person.
You can contact me either by email or by phone (07812187383)
Kind regards, Rachel Pryce-Jones

MJs Cross Country
Potential Volunteers Needed - Herefordshire Winter X-Country League Race 1 Sunday 23 October 2011 - Ludlow Runners are no longer able to organise the planned 1st race at Moor Park. All participating clubs have been asked if they could put on a league race on that day. I've discussed the possibility with Stuart and we think that we could utilise our 10k race route, but run in the reverse direction with a truncated route for the ladies race. The main issue is that with all the other things happening on the day that MJs may be involved with (Stroud Half, Birmingham Half, Junior Joggers, etc) would we have enough people to organise and participate in the race? We'd want at least 1 mans team of 4 and 1 ladies team of 3, plus around 15 or so people for marshaling and time-keeping, etc. If you are available and are interested in running or helping or have any suggestions as to who may be able to help please let me know by return. Many thanks Jonathan (green.jonathan@virgin.net or 079 7416 8577)

Future Hash
From Jon Newey ..... There is a Wedding Hash for Jules and Jon (laid by Jon and Roodie) on Tuesday 13th September (NOT the 6th!). It will be 7pm start from the Swan at Newlands. Traditionally a wedding Hash involves the men in wedding dresses and the women in suits, but it's not compulsory and any wedding themed costume is welcome. We have a vicar sorted! Unfortunately Jules can't make the run but should be back in time for the post run formalities. See you there.

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Wed 21/9 Club Run – Malvern St James Sports & Fitness Centre 7pm
Fri 23/9 Guinness World Records attempt on the fastest continuous 100 x 10k relay - Evesham Vale Running Club
Sat 24/9 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9 am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sun 25/9 Upton Bishop Big Dipper 5.6M
Sat 1/10 May Hill Challenge
Sun 2/10 Hope Valley Run (Hereford)
Sun 2/10 Shuttle 10K - Stourport
Sun 2/10 Burnham-on-Sea Half Marathon (very flat)
Sat 8/10 Worcestershire Beacon Race
Thu 13/10 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12
Sun 16/10 Cardiff Half Marathon
Sun 16/10 Amsterdam Marathon (see Roodie)
Sun 23/10 Stroud Half Marathon
Sun 23/10 MJ Cross-Country, Moor Park (Nr Ludlow)
Sun 13/11 MJ Cross- Country, Croft Castle
Sun 4/12 MJ Cross-Country, Hundred House (Nr Builth Wells)
Sun 8/1 MJ Cross-Country, Monkhall Farm
Sun 5/2 MJ Cross-Country, Presteigne

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 11 September 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Some announcements from Stuart ....
The 100 x 10k Guinness World Record Attempt organised by Evesham Vale for 23-26 September has been postponed. More news later.

Please make sure you wear a fluorescent vest or Hi Viz top now that we are running at dusk. The club subsidises the cost of fluorescent vests, which you can get from Steve Roode for £2.

We are very pleased to run from Malvern St James Sports Centre during the winter. As well as a great place to meet Malvern Joggers get:-
Free car parking, Free hot showers and clean toilets, 10% discount in the shop if they are an MJ
No joining fee for membership and a 20% discount on the monthly fee for gym, classes and swimming pool
No joining fee for membership and a 20% discount on the monthly fee for swimming pool use
A range of classes open to MJ’s on a drop in basis
A warm bar with cheap bottled beers

MJs Cross Country
From Jon Green - Corrected dates Cross Country dates as follows:-
Race 1 - 23 October 2011 Moor Park (Nr Ludlow)
Race 2 - 13 November 2011 Croft Castle
Race 3 - 4 December 2011 Hunderd House (Nr Builth Wells)
Race 4 - 8 January 2012 Monkhall Farm
Race 5 - 5 February 2012 Presteigne
Potential Volunteers Needed - Herefordshire Winter X-Country League Race 1 Sunday 23 October 2011 - Ludlow Runners are no longer able to organise the planned 1st race at Moor Park. All participating clubs have been asked if they could put on a league race on that day. I've discussed the possibility with Stuart and we think that we could utilise our 10k race route, but run in the reverse direction with a truncated route for the ladies race. The main issue is that with all the other things happening on the day that MJs may be involved with (Stroud Half, Birmingham Half, Junior Joggers, etc) would we have enough people to organise and participate in the race? We'd want at least 1 mans team of 4 and 1 ladies team of 3, plus around 15 or so people for marshaling and time-keeping, etc. If you are available and are interested in running or helping or have any suggestions as to who may be able to help please let me know by return. Many thanks Jonathan (green.jonathan@virgin.net or 079 7416 8577)

Race Reports
Lake Vyrnwy Half Marathon 11/9/11 by Julie Caseley
Well done to the 10 or more Malvern Joggers who turned up for the Lake Vyrnwy Half Marathon this afternoon.
It's a long way to go - at least 2 hours there and back. The race is organised by locals (and a very good job they do too) and all excess monies is ploughed back into the community.
The only gripe is, that for such a big race (well over 1200 runners I think), it's not champion chip timed so those
starting at the back of the field must have quite a few minutes added on after the gun has gone off. The route itself is lovely and scenic, starting outside the Community Centre then going uphill before a left turn onto the dam wall, then right, along a narrow lane hugging Lake Vyrnwy in a clockwise direction.
Just after 12 miles runners rejoin the outward route, only this time going downhill to the finish! I was hoping for a good time (a bit optimistic really, all things considered) but I felt I was going really well for the first half then my right leg just fell apart and that was the end of my race - finished in a time of 1:55 and some seconds. The presentation was really efficient with the top 10 men and women receiving prizes as well as 1st and 2nd men and women in all age categories. I hope everyone had a lovely race and enjoyed the experience.
Thanks, Julie
Tewkesbury Quarter Marathon by Jenni Neale - Myself and Annie Dendy have just run the Tewkesbury Quarter Marathon with amazing times for us. Very proud of ourselves. Just to prove that complete beginners can achieve so much when supported by the Malvern Joggers. Had Steve sorted my top in time i could of advertised aswell!!! lol. And..... a lady from Joggers won the fastest lady with a time of 42 minutes!!

Forthcoming Event
From Jon Newey - There's a new event being held on the 1st October called the May Hill Challenge. That's only a week before the Beacon Race so could be a good one to fine tune the form. Details of the event can be found here http://www.ajbsportsevents.co.uk/.
I've taken a run along the route. It's 14.5 km (about 9 miles) and is mostly tarmac. The start is at Newent School which will be familiar to those who have run the Gloucester Half Marathon. From the school the route weaves through the lanes to Cliffords Mense. From here it climbs steeply up a narrow lane before branching left off the road to climb through the woods on a well trodden path. This takes you to the summit of Mayhill (about 3 miles) followed by a grassy descent back off May Hill and down onto the lanes. It's pretty much all steady downhill tarmac for a few miles then a flattish run to the finish back in Newent.
Although tarmac is not my thing I did enjoy this run and think many Joggers will too. Unfortunately I'm away in early October (heading to the Atlas Mountains with some of the Mercia boys and Neil the Joggers' repair man) so won't be able to do the race.

More Charity Races
Run for Caudwell Children and help to change a child’s life.
Join one of these events to fundraise for Caudwell Children.
5k Fun Run – London – Sunday 2nd October
Mud Runner – Herefordshire – Sunday 16th October
5k Fun Run – Edinburgh – Sunday 23rd October
Alternatively, enter yourself into a run or marathon of your choice and we can send you a sponsorship form and Caudwell vest to run in!
Caudwell Children - If you aren’t familiar with Caudwell Children, we are a Children’s Charity providing a range of treatments, equipment and therapies to disabled and terminally ill children all over the UK. Every penny we raise as a charity goes straight back to the children – as all of our administration costs are paid by our founder.
If you would like to join an event and help to raise funds for Caudwell Children, call Joanne on 01782 600435 or e-mail joanne.condliffe@caudwellchildren.com

For Sale
From Carole Green
Junior starting blocks - SURE START III - as new with carrying case. Offers around £45
Tel: 01684 891019/07791154745/cagreen_malvern@yahoo.co.uk

Previous messages from Chairman Stuart .....
Could you improve the Acorns Malvern half marathon route? Acorns and Worcester AC would like to improve the Malvern half marathon route to make it more interesting and attract more runners. If you have any suggestions or would like to be involved please let me know.

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Tue 13/9 Wedding Hash - 7pm Swan pub, Newland
Wed 14/9 Club Run – Malvern St James Sports & Fitness Centre 7pm
Sat 17/9 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9 am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sat 17/9 Harewood Hurtle (Hereford)
Sun 18/9 Forest of Dean Rotary 5 & 10K
Fri 23/9 Guinness World Records attempt on the fastest continuous 100 x 10k relay - Evesham Vale Running Club
Sun 25/9 Upton Bishop Big Dipper 5.6M
Sat 1/10 May Hill Challenge
Sun 2/10 Hope Valley Run (Hereford)
Sun 2/10 Shuttle 10K - Stourport
Sun 2/10 Burnham-on-Sea Half Marathon (very flat)
Sat 8/10 Worcestershire Beacon Race
Thu 13/10 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12
Sun 16/10 Cardiff Half Marathon
Sun 16/10 Amsterdam Marathon (see Roodie)
Sun 23/10 Stroud Half Marathon
Sun 23/10 MJ Cross-Country, Moor Park (Nr Ludlow)
Sun 13/11 MJ Cross- Country, Croft Castle
Sun 4/12 MJ Cross-Country, Hundred House (Nr Builth Wells)
Sun 8/1 MJ Cross-Country, Monkhall Farm
Sun 5/2 MJ Cross-Country, Presteigne

Weekly Reminders
Always wear a fluorescent or white top on dark nights

Mustering - run to the back of the group from time to time.
I send the Club News/Blog out in 3 emails as I only have capacity for 100 recipients on one email.
If you do a race, and I'm not doing it as well, please drop me a few lines to let me know how you got on.
If you are not on the emailing list & would like to be, or if you would like to unsubscribe, please let me know.
chris@malvernjoggers.co.uk
Please see the Risk Assessments on our website

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 04 September 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Race Reports
Cheltenham Half Marathon 4/9/11 by Emma Gooderham
I’ve just got back from the Cheltenham half marathon, the first running of this event from the racecourse. This race was an out and back, turning at exactly half way. This was good as you could cheer on other runners and also gauge where you are in the field. The not so good news though was that the 'relatively flat' course was a little misleading and you basically went down for 6 and a half miles and then up on the second half. Saying that though, it wasn't 'hilly' by any means. It was however warm and windy, which didn't help. I finished 1st lady with a PB of 1.19.10 so was very pleased as I am still recovering from the 50km and my old injury was giving me some grief. The prizes were very good too, although no trophy, a nice medal, £110 up and running voucher and a load of mizuno gear - rucksack, tops and hoodies and windjacket, plus a goodie bag. Also the prize giving was as soon as you crossed the line - literally - I didn't even get to the drinks, it was a talk on Gloucs. radio, an interview for BBC Gloucs news and then presentation by the mayoress of Cheltenham. I was off back home by 4, the race started just after 2, so pretty smooth running, if you pardon the pun!. Two more joggers ran this as far as I knew but the results are not available yet, so I hope they give you info. too. The date has been set for next year as 2nd September and it would be a good one for MJ's to do.
Thanks, Emma

MJ Publicity
From Cathy Spence - As Stuart mentioned on Wednesday I would like to take a picture of all the Joggers who will be running the Cardiff Half Marathon for a "Joggers take on Wales" news story in the Gazette.
Please could all Cardiff runners come in their Joggers T-shirts/vests and be ready to have their photo taken before the run from MSJ this Wednesday. Also, if anyone has a welsh flag (any size will do) that we could use as a prop that would be great.
Thanks, Cathy Spence

Forthcoming Race
Whitbourne Hall Victorian Challenge - Sat 17/9/11 2pm
From the organisers – We are organising a local run which may be of interest to your members....would you mind passing on details? Would really appreciate it, Thxs, Raj Saini
From me – It’s an approx 5 mile race on private land involving hills and streams. There will be a BBQ and entertainment afterwards. It’s cost £12...... or £15 if you are not a member of the MJs
See www.whitbournehall.com

Sponsorship Request
On the 22nd of September 2011 Carolyne Sanders will be flying out to Tanzania to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Please help her raise money for British Heart Foundation and RNLI. You can sponsor her at .....
Virgin Money Giving | Fundraising | Carolyne Sanders's fundraising page uk.virginmoneygiving.com

And also .....
Rebecca Pack - Calling all Joggers! A charity that Gemma Ward is linked to, are trying to get over 100 Hooters to run Bath half on March 11th. It is a fantastic charity, encouraging people to examine their boobies (.)(.) It would be great if we can get as many joggers (Men and women!) to A. check their boobs and B. Jog for jugs!
http://www.facebook.com/l/sAQBJH6ruAQCkieo9B6rpRDhyOpM6t9JHOejjn8Ll4cUVPQ/www.coppafeel.org/hundred-hooters-2012 Follow this link for more details.

Press photo for Cardiff Runners
From Cathy Spence - As Stuart mentioned on Wednesday I would like to take a picture of all the Joggers who will be running the Cardiff Half Marathon for a "Joggers take on Wales" news story in the Gazette.
Please could all Cardiff runners come in their Joggers T-shirts/vests and be ready to have their photo taken before the run from MSJ this Wednesday. Also, if anyone has a Welsh flag (any size will do) that we could use as a prop that would be great. Thanks, Cathy

Tuesday Speed
From Ginny - This week's speed session will be hills again! Meet at Link Top car park at 5.45pm on Tuesday

Previous messages from Chairman Stuart .....
Back to MSJ. The first club run back at MSJ will be Wednesday 7th September, 7.00 pm as usual.
Could you improve the Acorns Malvern half marathon route? Acorns and Worcester AC would like to improve the Malvern half marathon route to make it more interesting and attract more runners. If you have any suggestions or would like to be involved please let me know.
Guinness World Records attempt. Can you help? Malvern Joggers have been invited to help make a Guinness World Records attempt on the fastest continuous 100 x 10k relay, which is being organised by Evesham Vale Running Club to mark their 5th anniversary.
The target time is 75 hours which would cut over 2 hours off the current US record. So we need 100 different runners to average 45 minutes each. To make the target "safe" we expect we can go with runners capable of 48 mins or less, achieving the averages by matching up with speed kings/queens. The record attempt will take place at a floodlit track near Stratford on Avon. There will be a nominal £5 entry fee for runners.
The World record attempt starts at 12 noon on Friday 23rd September and would therefore finish the following Monday afternoon if 100 x 45 minute 10k’s are achieved giving a new record of 75 hours.
If you would like to get involved we need Malvern Joggers who can run a 48 minute or faster 10k on a track and also support crew to take a turn helping with marshalling and others jobs.
We have been specifically asked if we can find a group of 12 Malvern Joggers to go through one of the nights. If you can’t manage a night shift, but can run at another time, we would still like your help please.
If you are able to join the support crew for a while or would like to run then please email stuart@malvernjoggers.co.uk
Let me know your e-mail and a mobile phone number, if you want to marshal or run and tell me your expected 10k time based on a recent race.
If you are willing to do a night run with other MJ’s between 9.00pm and 6.00am, let me know which night you can do. Thanks for your help. I look forward to hearing from you.

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Tue 6/9 Tuesday Speed – Link Top car park 5.45pm
Wed 7/9 Club Run – Malvern St James Sports & Fitness Centre 7pm
Sat 10/9 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9 am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sat 10/9 Apperley Quarter Marathon
Sat 10/9 Birmingham Canal Canter 26.2 miles
Sun 11/9 Lake Vyrnwy Half Marathon
Sun 11/9 Bristol Half Marathon
Sun 11/9 Stratford’s Big 10K
Sun 11/9 Woodchester Park - Stroud
Tue 13/9 Wedding Hash7pm – Swan pub, Newland
Sat 17/9 Harewood Hurtle (Hereford)
Sun 18/9 Forest of Dean Rotary 5 & 10K
Fri 23/9 Guinness World Records attempt on the fastest continuous 100 x 10k relay - Evesham Vale Running Club
Sun 25/9 Upton Bishop Big Dipper 5.6M
Sat 1/10 May Hill Challenge
Sun 2/10 Hope Valley Run (Hereford)
Sun 2/10 Shuttle 10K - Stourport
Sun 2/10 Burnham-on-Sea Half Marathon (very flat)
Sat 8/10 Beacon Race
Thu 13/10 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12
Sun 16/10 Cardiff Half Marathon
Sun 16/10 Amsterdam Marathon (see Roodie)
Sun 23/10 Stroud Half Marathon

Weekly Reminders
Mustering - run to the back of the group from time to time.
I send the Club News/Blog out in 3 emails as I only have capacity for 100 recipients on one email.
If you do a race, and I'm not doing it as well, please drop me a few lines to let me know how you got on.
If you are not on the emailing list & would like to be, or if you would like to unsubscribe, please let me know.
chris@malvernjoggers.co.uk
Please see the Risk Assessments on our website

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 28 August 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Some messages from Chairman Stuart .....

Our last summer run. This Wednesday 31st August is from the Drum and Monkey, just outside Upton, and will be our last before we return to Malvern St James sports centre. This is one of the venues where we rely on the co-operation of the pub landlord to provide parking so please stay after the run for a drink if you can.

Back to MSJ. The first club run back at MSJ will be Wednesday 7th September, 7.00 pm as usual.

Could you improve the Acorns Malvern half marathon route? Acorns and Worcester AC would like to improve the Malvern half marathon route to make it more interesting and attract more runners. If you have any suggestions or would like to be involved please let me know.

Guinness World Records attempt. Can you help? Malvern Joggers have been invited to help make a Guinness World Records attempt on the fastest continuous 100 x 10k relay, which is being organised by Evesham Vale Running Club to mark their 5th anniversary.
The target time is 75 hours which would cut over 2 hours off the current US record. So we need 100 different runners to average 45 minutes each. To make the target "safe" we expect we can go with runners capable of 48 mins or less, achieving the averages by matching up with speed kings/queens. The record attempt will take place at a floodlit track near Stratford on Avon. There will be a nominal £5 entry fee for runners.
The World record attempt starts at 12 noon on Friday 23rd September and would therefore finish the following Monday afternoon if 100 x 45 minute 10k’s are achieved giving a new record of 75 hours.
If you would like to get involved we need Malvern Joggers who can run a 48 minute or faster 10k on a track and also support crew to take a turn helping with marshalling and others jobs.
We have been specifically asked if we can find a group of 12 Malvern Joggers to go through one of the nights. If you can’t manage a night shift, but can run at another time, we would still like your help please.
If you are able to join the support crew for a while or would like to run then please email stuart@malvernjoggers.co.uk
Let me know your e-mail and a mobile phone number, if you want to marshal or run and tell me your expected 10k time based on a recent race.
If you are willing to do a night run with other MJ’s between 9.00pm and 6.00am, let me know which night you can do. Thanks for your help. I look forward to hearing from you.

Malvern Joggers sponsor world champion Emma Gooderham. At the last committee meeting in July, we decided to offer Emma, who’s such an enthusiastic supporter of the club, £100 sponsorship towards the cost of her races. Emma put our money to good use and subsequently became the ladies 50k world champion. This is the letter she sent us before competing in Holland.
“As requested, please find enclosed the invoice received for two pairs of racing shoes which I will use at the World 50k in Holland on 20th August and possibly in the Commonwealth trail race in September if all goes well in Holland and I recover well. I have just spent the week in Anglesey where the Commonwealth Ultra Championship is being held and have mixed feelings about the race as I was shown around the course and it is tough! 54k on hilly terrain, including quite a lot of soft sand and sand dunes! This week however has been superb training for the World 50k. I have done quite a bit of hill work and feel ready to tackle the flat course in Holland.
I get through trainers very quickly and have to order a pair on average every 1-2 months. £100 towards these trainers from Malvern Joggers is a lovely gesture for which I am very grateful, and will be thinking of that kind gesture to get me round the course and various races I use them in. As I said in my phone call, it is an honour to run for Malvern Joggers as the general vibe of the club is to have fun and to support each other and that is what it is all about. Malvern Joggers keeps me grounded. Yes I am competing at a high level but I am no different or special than all other runners that decide to do a race. In fact I am always humbled by seeing all the Malvern Joggers finish in a race, usually with tremendous support and camaraderie from fellow MJ’s. Everyone at the start line finishes the same distance, with a personal goal in mind and that’s what I like about running. Sometimes you see people finish last but they are so happy, because it is the first time they have completed the distance, or they have got fitter, or they have recovered from illness etc…
After an injury thwarted 2010 I treat every run as special, and I am grateful for another chance. I will try my hardest to run well in my next races with my new trainers and will of course let you know how it goes.
Many thanks again, Emma.”

Race Reports
50K World Championship 20/8/11 Press Release by Emma Gooderham
On 20th August, Emma Gooderham (40) from Wyre Piddle ran in the 50km (31 mile) World Trophy Final in Assen, Holland. The mother of two won the race in a personal best time of 3 hours and 17 minutes and 30 seconds, claiming the crown of World 50km Champion for 2011 and knocking a good 14 minutes off her previous time. This time is also a new all time World Record at this distance for her age category.
This race was the final race in a series of a number of 50 km races held across the World. Up to 20 men and women with the top qualifying times were invited to compete in the final held in Assen, Holland, although many other athletes entered independently in a field of around 150. Athletes travelled from countries such as Australia, Japan, America, South Africa and Russia to compete. Emma qualified for the race having run a 50km race in Gloucester back in June, setting a new personal best of 3 hours and 32 minutes and crowning herself British Champion.
The course was 10 laps of a flat 5km loop, starting and finishing in a stadium, and going through beautiful woodlands of Assen. The competition was tough and although she went into the race ranked second, she knew she had a hard race and to finish in the top 5 would be a dream. Her coach, Norman Wilson, advised her to go out hard from the start and try to maintain around 6 minutes and 20 seconds pace per mile for as long as possible. She did, and then just maintained this pace and didn’t slow for the whole race, so much so, her last few miles were run at around 6.15 and each lap she edged a little bit further away from the field. She went through the marathon distance in 2.46.04 which was also around 6 minutes quicker than she had ever run before, and if it had been an official time would place her easily in the top 15 for British times this year. Sue Harrison, also from Great Britain and who was the defending Champion, came in second in 3.25, with Joanna Zakrazewski also from GB closely following behind in third.
Emma is now concentrating on the Commonwealth ultra- trail (53km) Championships in a months’ time, which is being held in Wales. However, at the moment she is almost entirely self funded and therefore she is now seeking sponsorships to help her achieve more. She has been lucky to have a very supportive athletics club (Malvern Joggers) and coach, but a good sponsorship deal would really help her progress to even greater things.
Thanks, Emma
Winchcombe Hill Climb - 28 August 2011 by Julie Caseley
Where were all you Joggers?!! You're either saving yourselves for the Pubathon tomorrow or you got caught up
in the incident that closed the M5 this morning. Whatever the reason, you missed a great race.
The third running of the Winchcombe Hill Climb was a challenging multi-terrain race of over 650 feet climb to
the Neolithic Long Barrow Belas Knap with lovely views. The start was near the entrance to Sudeley Castle and the
route takes you on a circuit of the large Sudeley fields before it leaves the field and joins the Old Brockhampton Lane where the 5k and 10k races split. The beginning of the hill comes at about 4k and seems to go on forever but the run back down to Sudeley Castle was fantastic with the inevitable uphill finish. There was also a 1k fun run for children under 10 so, all in all, a super family day out.
Thanks, Julie

Race Places Available
Lake Vyrnwy ½ Marathon, Sunday 11 September at 1:00 p.m.
From Geoff F. ..I have two entries for the Lake Vyrnwy ½ that I cannot use (dodgy knee for me, lack of preparation for my son). Does anybody want them?
Please let me know a.s.a.p. if you do as the race organisers need to be informed before the day.
Just drop me an e_mail on geoff.field@lineone.net"

Charity Appeal
From Winston’s Wish ….. I hope you are well. I am emailing you because I work for Winston’s Wish, the charity for bereaved children, young people and their families. We have an office based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire and I was wondering if there was any possibility that you may be able to promote our guaranteed places in the 2012 Brighton Marathon to your members? I have attached a poster for you to view ? It would be AMAZING if you were able to display this for us ? You can also view further information at www.winstonswish.org.uk/brightonmarathon
Why your support is so important to us
It is a very sad fact that every 22 minutes a child in Britain is bereaved of a parent, that’s 24,000 newly bereaved children each and every year.
Winston's Wish helps bereaved children and young people rebuild their lives after a family death. We offer practical support and guidance to families, professionals and anyone concerned about a grieving child. We want children and young people to be able to express their grief, remember the important person who died and at the same time be able to face the future with hope.
Each year Winston's Wish helps over 500 children directly through our unique programme of individual and group work. Many more benefit as a result of calls to our helpline and the training we deliver to other professionals. As we become more well known, the demand for our services grows and the need for funding increases. During the present year we will require £1.7 million to cover the cost of delivering our service. Your support would make such a difference to the work that we do.
Thank you very much for your time. Warmest Wishes Natalie
Natalie Barrington, Community & Events Fundraiser
Direct Line: 01242 546186, Main Line: 01242 515157 Fax: 01242 546187 www.winstonswish.org.uk
New Address: Winston's Wish, 4th Floor, St James's House, St James Square, Cheltenham, Glos, GL50 3PR
To make a donation text WISH11 followed by an amount (£1,£2, £3, £4, £5 & £10) and send to 70070

“Junior Joggers” Required – FINAL REMINDER
There seems to be a significant demand for a road/X-country running club for youngsters who are not old enough to join Malvern Joggers.
The Committee has therefore decided to run a trial “Junior Joggers” section during this autumn, with a view to seeking the support of the Club at this year’s Annual General Meeting to adopt it as a permanent feature.
Junior Jogger’s autumn training sessions will take place on the playing fields at Malvern St. James Sports Hall every Sunday at 10:30, starting <date t.b.a.> and will last 45 min.
There are a lot of considerations to be taken into account before setting up a club for under-16’s, not least of which are child protection issues, which mean that coaches will need to undergo appropriate training and have regulatory checks carried out. Andy Dickenson, Andy Blannin, Lisa Dainty and Sam Burnage have volunteered to undertake the necessary training and run some limited coaching sessions during the autumn term.
Because the training / regulatory steps will take some time to complete, the autumn series will be restricted to 10 – 16 year olds who are sponsored by existing members of Malvern Joggers. We will also need an adult Jogger to attend the Autumn sessions with the child(ren) whom they are supporting.
Once the appropriate training has been taken, we would anticipate opening the Junior Section to a wider membership (not limited to family of MJ members) and possibly widening the age range to 8-16.
There will be no charge for the autumn sessions, although the intention is that there will be some form of membership / session fee going forward if the Club decides to adopt the “Junior Joggers”.
If you have children who would like to participate in the autumn trial of “Junior Joggers”, please e-mail the following information to the Club Secretary geoff.field@lineone.net :
Child’s full name, Date of Birth, Name of responsible adult (must be a member of Malvern Joggers)
Contact telephone no.
If you know of other children who do not fulfil the age/membership requirements for the autumn sessions, please let us know anyway, as we can take them into consideration when planning activities for next year.

MJs Pubathon 29/8/11
From Andy Milton - It is traditional for the Joggers to do a charity pub run on the August bank holiday monday, this year being the 29th , therefore once again the thirsty trio, myself , Roodie and Pete Cowling have put the wheels in motion . We will be meeting at the Nags at 1100 hrs and finishing there after a 16 mile trek which includes a visit to 15 pubs along the way. We collect for the Acorns Charity and all Joggers are invited to come along and help persuade the locals to part with their money. As with previous years , Joggers can join for part, or all of the route and you will not get grief if you decide to cycle.
We are seeking a volunteer to drive and help empty our heavy load.... of donations and also to assist with warning the pubs we are arriving.
This has been a great event in the past particularly socially and we hope you can find time to join us. More details to follow.

Dragon Boat Racing, Aug Bank Hol Monday, Hereford
From Grouty - A nice family event on Bank Holiday Monday in Hereford. I am putting together a Dragon Boat team at the Hereford River Wye Charity Festival again this year. The arrangements are - roughly 9.30 be there - aim to finish 4pm, take picnic, chairs etc, Be prepared for a party come rain or shine and enter into the spirit of the day, it really is a whole lot of fun and in the company of friends and family. Novices welcome and a practice/trial run is included on the day. You//your partners/friends/family are invited to join in the crew. Crew members need to be aged 16 or over. We need a minimum of 17, maximum of 20 members per boat.... to include one drummer.
The cost this year is £25 per person and I have costed this to allow me to purchase some appropriate fancy dress / item of headwear, but any surplus I will refund you. Each boat costs £340. If you would like to join in please can you give me a definite yes as soon as possible? Email sarahsgrout@aol.com

Vikki Sivertsens Bootycamp...
Every Wednesday in August 9am Peachfield common., you can attend 1,2,3,4 or all 5 sessions (see below)
Ladies only. (over 16’s)
Ladies.....arrive early to fill in your Par Q. (only have to do this once)
Bring......a drink (plastic bottle) a towel
wear suitable foot wear (trainers)
wear sports wear that you don't mind if it gets dirty
maybe a mat or small piece of old carpet (hands and knees will be on the ground eg press ups, sit ups)
Payment (£5 per session or £20 upfront for all 5 sessions)
Meet at the Car Park on Peachfield Common, where the goal posts are, Peachfield Road end.
This week’s session ‘BOOTYLISCIOUS’
Feel free to tell others about this (Ladies only, over 16's).

Tuesday Night Speed
From Jayne A ..... As some of you may be aware, I shall be out of action for the next couple of months, however Tuesday night speed will still continue through the summer.
Ginny will take over the whistle and will lead the group on a programme aimed at October marathons & half-marathons.
Usual time & place: Tuesdays, 5:45pm at Morrisons - all welcome!

Next Wednesday
31st August only - The Drum and Monkey, head south out of Upton on Severn on the B4211 (grid ref 844392)
We are going to need leaders for the runs from all these places so please do some homework and prepare a route, ready to take a turn. Please speak to Jayne Ackroyd if you can help.

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Wed 31/8 Vikki Sivertsen’s Bootycamp 9am Peachfield common
Wed 31/8 Club Run – Drum & Monkey, near Upton 7pm
Sat 3/9 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9 am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sun 4/9 Cheltenham Half Marathon
Sun 4/9 Wolverhampton Half Marathon
Sun 4/9 Wye Valley Half Marathon
Sun 4/9 Angels RC 10K Road Race – Haresfield, Gloucester
Sat 10/9 Apperley Quarter Marathon
Sat 10/9 Birmingham Canal Canter 26.2 miles
Sun 11/9 Lake Vyrnwy Half Marathon
Sun 11/9 Bristol Half Marathon
Sun 11/9 Stratford’s Big 10K
Sun 11/9 Woodchester Park - Stroud
Sat 17/9 Harewood Hurtle (Hereford)
Sun 18/9 Forest of Dean Rotary 5 & 10K
Sun 25/9 Upton Bishop Big Dipper 5.6M
Sat 1/10 May Hill Challenge
Sun 2/10 Hope Valley Run (Hereford)
Sun 2/10 Shuttle 10K - Stourport
Sun 2/10 Burnham-on-Sea Half Marathon (very flat)
Sat 8/10 Beacon Race
Thu 13/10 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12
Sun 16/10 Cardiff Half Marathon
Sun 16/10 Amsterdam Marathon (see Roodie)
Sun 23/10 Stroud Half Marathon

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 21 August 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Club Handicap Event 2011
From Eric B .....Congratulations to overall winner Tonia ? and second lady Sarah Hale and Mark Spicer and Alex Hever first and second male runners. Somewhat generous handicapping may have helped just a little ?
Nick Hitchins(17.16) and new runner Tania ?(19.58) were the fastest runners .Tania also broke the course record previously held by Jill Brierley (20.13 ’06).The mens record is held by Jon Newey(16.12 ’07)
Debbie Russel also had a great run only just missing fastest lady.
On Age Grade the indomitable Julie Caseley came first only just outside National Performance Level of 80%.
Trust you all enjoyed it and hope to see you again sometime next year.

Malvern Joggers have a new WORLD CHAMPION !!
Emma Gooderham .....Quite surreal but I am now the World 50 km champion and have set a new all time world record in my age category in 3.17.29. Knocked 15 mins off my previous time and went through the marathon distance in 2.46, 6 mins faster than my previous time. Am coming home from Holland now and ache slightly but happy!

Forthcoming Event – Upton Bishop Big Dipper
From the organisers - Please see attached entry form for this year's run. We hope to see you on the day where moderate effort will be rewarded by a Big Dipper Mug plus tea and cakes. Best regards, Nigel Misselbrook

MJs in National Mag.
Paul Newman informs us that .....Malvern Joggers have got their photo in the latest edition of Trail Runner mag again, this time it’s the Summer Solstice run !

Future Hash’s.......
From Bradley Crouch ..... I will be setting next Tuesdays Malvern Hash from the Plume of Feathers Castlemorton common, this will be a cross country social run finishing in the pub after...
Hash will start at 7:00pm, if your never tried hashing this will be a great taster... The trail will be about five country miles and it can be done at your own pace, not mine :-)
Speaking of Hashing .....
From Jon Newey ..... There is a Wedding Hash for Jules and Jon (laid by Jon and Roodie) on Tuesday 13th September (NOT the 6th!). It will be 7pm start from the Swan at Newlands. Traditionally a wedding Hash involves the men in wedding dresses and the women in suits, but it's not compulsory and any wedding themed costume is welcome. We have a vicar sorted! Unfortunately Jules can't make the run but should be back in time for the post run formalities. See you there.

World record 10k event !
Can you run a 10K in 45 minutes? If so you may be interested in this ....
Dear Runner Many thanks for taking part in this year’s Birdseye Sports Evesham Vale 10k.
As Race Director, I was really pleased that so many great runners took the opportunity to run the race and I hope that you enjoyed the experience.
To mark the 5th anniversary of the Evesham Vale Running Club, we've secured approval from Guinness World Records to make an attempt at an established world record for the fastest continuous 100 x 10k relay. The current record is 77 hr 17 min 25 sec and was set by the Florida Striders Track Club, (USA) at Bishop John J. Snyder High School, Jacksonville, Florida, USA, from 3-6 December 2009.
We've set a target time of 75 hours for our effort; so we need 100 different runners to average 45 minutes each. As you completed the Evesham 10k race in less than 45 minutes, the Club would like to invite you take part in this event.
Provisional details are as follows: Dates: start Friday 23rd September and finish Monday 26th September Venue: track at Stratford High School - they can run floodlights through the night which is vital, and we have an association there.
Cost: possibly £10 per runner, to cover costs, although we are hoping to get some funding/grant which may mean we can reduce the amount each participant pays.
Entry: we'll get application forms to you to pick up expected times and preferred time slots We will most likely be doing something for charityIf you would like to be involved in this fantastic event, please send me an email and I will forward your details onto another member of the Club who will forward you an application form.
We look forward to hearing from you, and hope you'll join the fun! Katy Tarplee
2011 Race Director – Birdseye Sports Evesham Vale 10kOrganising Committee – Guinness World Record Attempt 100 x 10k
Info supplied by Paul Newman

“Junior Joggers” Required
There seems to be a significant demand for a road/X-country running club for youngsters who are not old enough to join Malvern Joggers.
The Committee has therefore decided to run a trial “Junior Joggers” section during this autumn, with a view to seeking the support of the Club at this year’s Annual General Meeting to adopt it as a permanent feature.
Junior Jogger’s autumn training sessions will take place on the playing fields at Malvern St. James Sports Hall every Sunday at 10:30, starting <date t.b.a.> and will last 45 min.
There are a lot of considerations to be taken into account before setting up a club for under-16’s, not least of which are child protection issues, which mean that coaches will need to undergo appropriate training and have regulatory checks carried out. Andy Dickenson, Andy Blannin, Lisa Dainty and Sam Burnage have volunteered to undertake the necessary training and run some limited coaching sessions during the autumn term.
Because the training / regulatory steps will take some time to complete, the autumn series will be restricted to 10 – 16 year olds who are sponsored by existing members of Malvern Joggers. We will also need an adult Jogger to attend the Autumn sessions with the child(ren) whom they are supporting.
Once the appropriate training has been taken, we would anticipate opening the Junior Section to a wider membership (not limited to family of MJ members) and possibly widening the age range to 8-16.
There will be no charge for the autumn sessions, although the intention is that there will be some form of membership / session fee going forward if the Club decides to adopt the “Junior Joggers”.
If you have children who would like to participate in the autumn trial of “Junior Joggers”, please e-mail the following information to the Club Secretary geoff.field@lineone.net :
Child’s full name, Date of Birth, Name of responsible adult (must be a member of Malvern Joggers)
Contact telephone no.
If you know of other children who do not fulfil the age/membership requirements for the autumn sessions, please let us know anyway, as we can take them into consideration when planning activities for next year.

Cardiff Half Accommodation & Transport
From Andy Milton - We will be having a meeting soon to sort out the Cardiff half arrangements so just sending an update of names of those who have asked me to book them accommodation in the Luxury Hostel (£17 inc B/fast) and transport. Please can you check and get back to me if either you don’t require it now or if there is anyone who I have missed off the list.

Summer Running – Monthly Rota
1st Wednesday - The Chase Inn, Upper Colwall
2nd Wednesday – The Old Bush pub, Callow End, (grid ref 831488)
3rd Wednesday - Gullet Quarry car park, Castlemorton Common (grid ref 766381)
4th Wednesday - The 3 Kings at Hanley Castle
31st August only - The Drum and Monkey, head south out of Upton on Severn on the B4211 (grid ref 844392)
We are going to need leaders for the runs from all these places so please do some homework and prepare a route, ready to take a turn. Please speak to Jayne Ackroyd if you can help.

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Wed 24/8 and every Wednesday in August Vikki Sivertsen’s Bootycamp 9am Peachfield common
Wed 24/8 Club Run – Three Kings, Hanley Swan 7pm
Sat 27/8 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9 am. Entry is free, register on website beforehand
Sun 4/9 Cheltenham Half Marathon
Sun 4/9 Wolverhampton Half Marathon
Sun 4/9 Wye Valley Half Marathon
Sun 4/9 Angels RC 10K Road Race – Haresfield, Gloucester
Sat 10/9 Apperley Quarter Marathon
Sat 10/9 Birmingham Canal Canter 26.2 miles
Sun 11/9 Lake Vyrnwy Half Marathon
Sun 11/9 Bristol Half Marathon
Sun 11/9 Stratford’s Big 10K
Sun 11/9 Woodchester Park - Stroud
Sat 17/9 Harewood Hurtle (Hereford)
Sun 18/9 Forest of Dean Rotary 5 & 10K
Sun 25/9 Upton Bishop Big Dipper 5.6M
Sat 1/10 May Hill Challenge
Sun 2/10 Hope Valley Run (Hereford)
Sun 2/10 Shuttle 10K - Stourport
Sun 2/10 Burnham-on-Sea Half Marathon (very flat)
Sat 8/10 Beacon Race
Thu 13/10 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12
Sun 16/10 Cardiff Half Marathon
Sun 16/10 Amsterdam Marathon (see Roodie)
Sun 23/10 Stroud Half Marathon

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 14 August 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Club Handicap Event
Eric Bromage with the details ..... After several years absence we’re re-running the Club Handicap Event.
This Wednesday 17 Aug. 7.00 for 7.15pm approx. Gullet Quarry CP.
Distance is approx 2 ¾ miles almost all on road.
Prizes for first 2 male and female finishers.
Club Members only.
No entry fee but YOU MUST PRE ENTER so that we can work out handicaps. Send email to Eric , elbromage@talktalk.net with you latest or estimated 10K times. If you’ve no idea say so and we’ll work something out for you !
This is meant to be a fun event not to be taken too seriously.
Rehydration at the Plume of Feathers afterwards.

Fast Group Leaders Rota. We need your help please. The committee have decided to put a rota in place for the 8½ minute mile group on Wednesday nights, which will be particularly useful during the summer. Please will you e-mail stuart@malvernjoggers.co.uk if you are able to take a turn to lead the group.

Tuesday Speed
Message from Ginny - Speed this Tuesday will be hill reps. Meet at link top car park at 5.45pm

Cardiff Half Accommodation & Transport
From Andy Milton - We will be having a meeting soon to sort out the Cardiff half arrangements so just sending an update of names of those who have asked me to book them accommodation in the Luxury Hostel (£17 inc B/fast) and transport. Please can you check and get back to me if either you dont require it now or if there is anyone who I have missed off the list.

Race Reports
Stourbridge Stumble 13/8/11 by Julie Caseley
The Stourbridge Stumble is the “baby sister” of the Stourbridge Stagger 10 mile that takes place in February.
Four MJ’s turned out for this race last evening at 6pm – Steve Roode, Megan Judge, Jerry Greer and myself. It was a beautiful evening and the course was bone dry due to the lack of rain and that included the long, deep sandy stretch at about mile 4. There were short sections of pavement and road but the route was mostly on lovely, undulating country trails. Well done to Megan who was 3rd lady and I also won my age category.

MJs Pubathon 2011
From Andy Milton - It is traditional for the Joggers to do a charity pub run on the August bank holiday monday, this year being the 29th , therefore once again the thirsty trio, myself , Roodie and Pete Cowling have put the wheels in motion . We will be meeting at the Nags at 1100 hrs and finishing there after a 16 mile trek which includes a visit to 15 pubs along the way. We collect for the Acorns Charity and all Joggers are invited to come along and help persuade the locals to part with their money. As with previous years , Joggers can join for part, or all of the route and you will not get grief if you decide to cycle.
We are seeking a volunteer to drive and help empty our heavy load.... of donations and also to assist with warning the pubs we are arriving.
This has been a great event in the past particularly socially and we hope you can find time to join us. More details to follow.

Forthcoming Event
Hay Hill Raiser 4/9/11
From the Hay Hotfooters - Just a quick note to let you know about our HAY HILL RAISER road race. This is being run for the third time on Sunday 4th of September starting at 11.00am.
As the attached poster describes the race route is 11.3 miles and although somewhat hilly is a lovely road race with wonderful views of the Black Mountains, finishing with a fast downhill. Further details and race application forms are on our website www.hayhotfooters.co.uk, which is well worth a look at anyway.
Race Headquarters are based at Hay primary school, which is situated next to Hay-on-Wye’s main car park in the centre of the town. Hay-on-Wye is famous for books and its annual Literary Festival and so has a wealth of book shops. It also has a wide array of craft, antique and clothes shops, pubs and restaurants etc. that are all open on Sundays. Ideal therefore for race runners with their friends and families to visit for the day or weekend.
We would be very grateful if you would pass this information onto your club runners and if possible display our poster. We look forward to seeing you on the day.
All the best, Tina Lavelle (Hay Hill Raiser Committee Secretary), admin@hayhotfooters.co.uk

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Wed 17/8 and every Wednesday in August Vikki Sivertsen’s Bootycamp 9am Peachfield common
Sat 20/8 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9am
Wed 17/8 Club Handicap Event – Gullet car park, Castlemorton 7pm
Sun 4/9 Cheltenham Half Marathon
Sun 4/9 Wolverhampton Half Marathon
Sun 4/9 Wye Valley Half Marathon
Sat 10/9 Apperley Quarter Marathon
Sat 10/9 Birmingham Canal Canter 26.2 miles
Sun 11/9 Lake Vyrnwy Half Marathon
Sun 11/9 Bristol Half Marathon
Sun 11/9 Stratford’s Big 10K
Sun 11/9 Woodchester Park - Stroud
Sat 17/9 Harewood Hurtle (Hereford)
Sun 18/9 Forest of Dean Rotary 5 & 10K
Sun 25/9 Upton Bishop Big Dipper 5.6M
Sat 1/10 May Hill Challenge
Sun 2/10 Hope Valley Run (Hereford)
Sun 2/10 Shuttle 10K - Stourport
Sun 2/10 Burnham-on-Sea Half Marathon (very flat)
Sat 8/10 Beacon Race
Thu 13/10 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12
Sun 16/10 Cardiff Half Marathon
Sun 16/10 Amsterdam Marathon (see Roodie)
Sun 23/10 Stroud Half Marathon

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 07 August 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Two from Stuart ....
Many thanks to Paul Newman for suggesting and organising Malvern Joggers participation in the Thunder Run last weekend. See page 69 of this Friday’s Gazette.
Most MJ’s arrived on Saturday morning to camp together for the weekend. The Mediterranean weather made running on Saturday afternoon really tough but relaxing between runs was great. Everyone in our two teams of seven managed at least one scorching Saturday afternoon run and an exciting night lap with head torches. All team members completed at least three 10k circuits and a couple did five. The event was really well organised, great fun and well worth doing again next year. Special thanks to Tabitha, Neil and Jim who were drafted in at the last minute and ran brilliantly.

Fast Group Leaders Rota. We need your help please. The committee have decided to put a rota in place for the 8½ minute mile group on Wednesday nights, which will be particularly useful during the summer. Please will you e-mail stuart@malvernjoggers.co.uk if you are able to take a turn to lead the group.

Race Reports
Adidas Thunder 24 hour relay by Paul Newman
Last weekend two teams of Malvern Joggers travelled to South Derbyshire to compete in this fantastic event, in the previous week we had 16 fit joggers ready for 2 teams of 8, however on the Friday before we were down to 7 on each team, then on the morning of the race the team captain of the "Crouching Tabby .. team" called in sick after a night at The Priors..leaving them with only 6 runners meaning an extra 36 miles of racing for the rest of his team. Also with only 7 runners left in the "Mega Roode Ali cats" we were down to the bare bones as well.
Luckily help was soon at hand Tabitha Luke's Husband, Neil arrived as chauffeur for the weekend (or so he thought), Neil is a Fireman and had just finished a shift of nights, however after a bit of persuasion he was roped into the "Crouching Tabby.. team". This was highly commendable as Neil is more of a biker and had done no training for this event.
We set off to Catton Park on the Saturday to meet Roodie plus an injured Megz and his girls, they had set up camp the night before and reserved space so that we could all camp together, after registration we were ready for the event.
Thunder is 24 hour relay in the grounds of a stately home similar to the Eastnor estate, the course itself is all off road and undulating, through woods, fields peaks and troughs.The scenery is alway different especially as you are running morning noon and night.
High noon arrived and we were off, it was Stuart Brown versus Steve Roode, they then handed the baton on to Bradley Crouch and myself, so it continued for 24 hours day and night,as we sat around the camp fire eating our "snags" cooked by our Aussie chef we noticed the casualties were starting to mount up. Andy Banham had already fallen over and Jim Oakley (a late replacement) had agrivated an old injury and didn't think he'd be able to do another lap, anyone dropping out would have meant more laps for the others, but the team spirt was tremendous and the guys all pulled together and went that extra mile.. or 12 for each other. Night fell and still we continued, lap after lap, Roodie offered to run 3 laps in pitch black at 2 in the morning,he was due to hand over to me,it was strange waiting to start a race in the middle of the night and chatting to Nicky Stubbs both waiting to commence our laps.Nicky collected her baton from Crampy and I from Roodie, I then passed to Andy Banham, apparently during his lap it started to get lighter, he said he "saw the sunrise over the gas works in Birmingham" I was off to bed for a few hours rest.
Sunday morning the teams were all tired but still going, that Dunkirk spirt was in evidence, Jim who had said he couldn't continue had managed another 2 laps, Neil the non runner had done 3 laps ! it was time to see who was still standing and able go continue ??
The last MJ home doing his 5th lap was Steve Roode ! we'd done it 24 hours non stop relay ! both teams did 25 laps ! The "Mega Roode Ali cats" came in 85th place and "The Crouching Tabby, Nick didn't show" team came home 71st of 145 teams !
I have to say how proud I am of all the guys and girls there were some very impressive performaces, Claire Gilder a late addition (Ms Consistency) 4 laps awesome,Roodie and Stuart 5 laps each Jim Oakley, Nicky Stubbs and Andy for running through the pain and to Neil the non MJ non runner for running 3 laps for the team outstanding ! Everybody did fantastically well ! all are looking forward to doing it again next year ! Finally thanks to the support crew of Stewart, Megz, "T" and Roodies girlies for looking after us all !
Thanks, Paul
Bugatti 10K 3/7/11 by Chris Barker
This is our favourite mid-week 10K race (after our own) which took place last Wednesday near Winchcombe, Gloucestershire.
I have counted 24 MJs on the results list from a total of 325 competitors. A PB course it isn’t as it’s not exactly flat and also the start and finish are in different places with the finish being at a higher elevation than the start.
It’s a race well-known for the finisher’s goodies although this year the t-shirt was optional (I think) and you could take home your Bugatti glass which was made of plastic! In past years the race has finished at the pub which may be where the name of the event comes from but this year finished nearby at a green space. No MJ style gazebos in evidence so I don’t know what would have happened if it rained. The race doesn’t get any easier as a total of 690 feet of ‘up’ would indicate. Our first finisher was Andy Chuckle-Milton in 42-02.
Tenbury 10K 7/8/11 by Julie Caseley
It doesn't seem 5 minutes since we were running up "that" hill this time last year!! The course is a pan handle starting at Palmers Meadow adjacent to Tenbury Wells Swimming Pool. Initially it seems a pretty friendly route then at mile 3 there's something of a hill and it goes on for about half a mile but seems a lot longer. Then there's a short flat bit to recover slightly before hurling youself downhill to rejoin the lane. It's a more or less flat 2 miles before running in through the back of Palmers Meadow and a sprint to the finish if you've got anything left in the tank!! Six Malvern Joggers ran this race - Andy Milton (41:12), Carl Anthony(43:54), Megan Judge (44:42), Steve Roode (44:46), Julie Caseley (49:17) and Chris Barker (51:04). Well done to Megan who was 2nd lady finisher and I also broke 50 minutes for the first time in 5 attempts and winning my age category.
Thanks, Julie

Forthcoming Event
From the organisers of this one .....
Powis Arms Bury Ditches Hill Race Sunday 25th Sept
The Powis Arms Bury Ditches Hill Race takes place on Sunday 25th Sept at 11am, starting and finishing at the Powis Arms, Lydbury North, Shropshire, SY7 8BN. (between Bishops Castle and Craven Arms)
The race is aprox 5.8 miles. The event is in aid of the County Air Ambulance. There is a cake to all finishers, camping is available alongside the start, and there are rooms at the Powis Arms if you want, there is also a mini beer festival on over the weekend.
Event website is http//buryditcheshillrace.wordpress.com
We're hoping to get online entry, but if we don't just turn up on the day as per local fell runs.
Entry fee is £5.00 it doesn't come much cheaper.
Last years winner was Simon Norwood of Croft Ambrey in a time of 40.46. Yvonne Hill of Oswestry Olympians won the ladies event in a time of 48.57
We look forward to seeing your club members at the event,
Regards, Dave Farrow

Forthcoming Event – Alderton 5K 3/9/11
I am organising an 5K Run and wondered if any of your members might be interested in taking part. It is a fairly flat course so is ideal for those relatively new to running as well as more experience athletes looking to record a good time. It’s also open to over 13’s so might even suit people who fancy running as a family.
I am attaching a poster and entry form for the Run which is on the 3rd September. One thing not mentioned on the poster is that we are going to set up the dreaded “bleep test” for people to try (if they have any energy left after the run).
Please email or call me on 01242 620126 if you would like any further information.
Regards, Rupert Kinder

Club Handicap Event
Eric Bromage with the details ..... After several years absence we’re re-running the Club Handicap Event.
Wednesday 17 Aug. 7.00 for 7.15pm approx.Gullet Quarry CP.
Distance approx 2 ¾ miles almost all on road.
Prizes for first 2 male and female finishers.
Club Members only.
No entry fee but YOU MUST PRE ENTER so that we can work out handicaps. Send email to Eric , elbromage@talktalk.net with you latest or estimated 10K times. If you’ve no idea say so and we’ll work something out for you !
This is meant to be a fun event not to be taken too seriously.
Rehydration at the Plume of Feathers afterwards.

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Wed 10/8 Club Run – Old Bush, Callow End
Wed 10/8 and every Wednesday in August Vikki Sivertsen’s Bootycamp 9am Peachfield common
Sat 13/8 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9am
Sat 13/8 Stourbridge Stumble
Sun 14/8 Standish Woodland Chase
Wed 17/8 Club Handicap Event – Gullet car park, Castlemorton 7pm
Sun 4/9 Cheltenham Half Marathon
Sat 10/9 Apperley Quarter Marathon
Sat 1/10 May Hill Challenge
Sat 8/10 Beacon Race
Thu 13/10 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12
Sun 16/10 Amsterdam Marathon (see Roodie)

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 31 July 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Herefordshire Summer Off-Road League 2011 - Update Report for Race 3
From Jon Green - Westhope (20 July). It was another tough but enjoyable race with a record turnout of 18 MJs. Our A team finished 3rd. We had 5 of our guys finish in the top 20 and our first lady home this time was summer league debutante Joan who finished an excellent 67th overall (just beating Laurence into 68th by 1 second). I must also mention the other summer league first-timers: Graham Cramp, Adam Wilks and Pete Wilson. Adam ran as an MJ second claim runner (effectively a guest) and finished well up in the top 10 (unfortunately as a second claim runner he doesn't count towards the league points).

In the individual competition it's the best 3 results that count. With 1 race to go and taking into account the best 2 results so far, Megz is 2nd SF, Kareen is 2nd FV50, Richard is 3rd MV45, Andrew is 4th MV45, yours truly is 1st MV50, Nigel is 2nd MV50, Stuart is 2nd MV55 and Barry is 1st MV70. In the team competition MJs are 4th, just 5 points ahead of Croft Ambrey B team.

The 4th and final race of the Summer League is Shobdon this coming Wednesday (3 August). It's much more fun than the Bugatti 10k! Let me know if you will or won't be running as soon as possible please. (Jonathan Green - 079 7416 8577 or green.jonathan@virgin.net).

Vikki Sivertsens Bootycamp... starts this Wednesday, 9am Peachfield common.
Every Wednesday in August, you can attend 1,2,3,4 or all 5 sessions (see below)
Ladies only. (over 16’s)
Ladies.....arrive early to fill in your Par Q. (only have to do this once)
Bring......a drink (plastic bottle) a towel
wear suitable foot wear (trainers)
wear sports wear that you don't mind if it gets dirty
maybe a mat or small piece of old carpet (hands and knees will be on the ground eg press ups, sit ups)
Payment (£5 per session or £20 upfront for all 5 sessions)
Meet at the Car Park on Peachfield Common, where the goal posts are, Peachfield Road end.
This week’s session ‘BOOTYLISCIOUS’
Feel free to tell others about this (Ladies only, over 16's).

Dragon Boat Racing, Aug Bank Hol Monday, Hereford
From Grouty - As I mentioned on Wednesday I have decided to co-ordinate one or possibly two Dragon Boat teams at the Hereford River Wye Charity Festival again this year. It takes place on the August Bank Holiday Monday in Hereford at the Rowing Club. It is organised by Hereford City Rotary Club, where I am a member. The arrangements are : roughly 9.30 be there - aim to finish around 4pm, take picnic, chairs etc, I organise tables, gazebos and paraphernalia.... Be prepared for a party come rain or shine and to enter into the spirit of the day, it really is a whole lot of fun and in the company of friends and family. Novices welcome and a practice/trial run is included on the day. I have attached a sheet about the River Festival. Our team(s) will be branded up as Macmillan Cancer Support most likely, to raise awareness of the charity, and I am not expecting you as entrants to have to raise sponsorship but of course will happily co-ordinate any sponsorship if you wished to support the charity in this way.
I am emailing Malvern Joggers, to see whether you/your partners/friends/family would be interested in joining the crew(s). Please note that crew members need to be aged 16 or over.
We need a minimum of 17, maximum of 20 members per boat.... to include one drummer.
The cost this year is £25 per person and I have costed this to allow me to purchase some appropriate fancy dress / item of headwear, but if there is any surplus I will refund you. Each boat costs £340. It is therefore imperative that I have payment up front. Last year it was a big outlay for me and I had people drop out at the last minute so I ended up out of pocket. It is a big nightmarish organisational feat - and so I need to be as sure as I can that people will not let me down. This year I am also organising a bottle tombola at the event, in aid of Rotary Charities, and going on holiday on the Tuesday of the Bank Hol week, so would really like to get my team(s) decided and paid up in good time.
If you would like to join in please can you give me a definite yes as soon as possible? Email sarahsgrout@aol.com or text/tel 07540 271399
I look forward to hearing from any aspiring paddlers/drummers! Welcome on board!
Grouty x

Tues night speed
From Jayne A ..... As some of you may be aware, I shall be out of action for the next couple of months, however Tuesday night speed will still continue through the summer.
This week we will have a guest leader, and after that Ginny will take over the whistle and will lead the group on a programme aimed at October marathons & half-marathons.
Usual time & place: Tuesdays, 5:45pm at Morrisons - all welcome!

Minibus Transport – Bugatti 10k Wednesday 3/8/11
From Andy Milton - The following have confirmed places on the bus, there is still room for one more !
The pick up timings are as follows
Barnards Green bus stop: 1735
Link Texaco garage : 1745
Link Top: 1750
Upper Welland bus stop: 1800
Longdon 1810
We can pick up along this route if required but need to keep to timings. My mobile is 07962 230885 if anyone needs to call . The club has agreed to pay half towards the hire of the bus so we are now looking at £3.00 a head to cover the rest. We will obviously do a return journey along the same route with the final stop being "the Nags"
also from Andy ....
Reference the Cardiff half on the 16th October we will also be hiring a mini bus, however we will be leaving the day before (15th),staying over night in a back packers hostel and returning the following evening after the run. The numbers are increasing by the day so please all those who require accommodation and transport e mail me ASAP so we can finalise the bookings. The accommodation is the Nomad Hotel , very basic but £17 a head inc breakfast !! We will try and sort girls and boys seperate however they are 6 person rooms so be prepared to share with Roodie !!
Always a pleasure, Chuckles Tours !

Group Leader Required
Amanda Duncan - Can anyone lead my 9.30min group on 3rd August from The Chase as I would like to do the Bugatti 10k? Email ... angusemilybob@yahoo.co.uk

ParkRun
I made my second appearance in the seventh Worcester Parkrun 5K on Saturday morning. It’s run every Saturday 9am at the Countryside Centre, Worcester and is free to enter but you must register on the website first, print off your barcode and take it along with you.
This week I was joined by fellow MJs Mark Witt and Nigel and Jane Sewell.
The first week there were 23 runners. In the following weeks there has been 30, 30 again, 21, 31, 43 and on Saturday 56. It’s growing rapidly. I even managed a PB for the event! See you there next Saturday!
www.parkrun.com

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Wed 3/8 Club Run – Chase Inn, Upper Colwall
Wed 3/8 Cross-Country League - Shobdon
Wed 3/8 and every Wednesday in August Vikki Sivertsen’s Bootycamp 9am Peachfield common
Wed 3/8 Bugatti 10K
Sat 6/8 Parkrun 5K, Countryside Centre Worcester 9am
Sun 7/8 Tenbury 10K
Sat 13/8 Stourbridge Stumble
Sun 14/8 Standish Woodland Chase
Wed 17/8 Club Handicap Event – Gullet car park, Castlemorton 7pm
Sun 4/9 Cheltenham Half Marathon
Sat 10/9 Apperley Quarter Marathon
Sat 1/10 May Hill Challenge
Sat 8/10 Beacon Race
Thu 13/10 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12
Sun 16/10 Amsterdam Marathon (see Roodie)

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 24 July 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Wed night groups
From Jayne Ackroyd .....Unfortunately, some of the Wed night leaders on the rota are finding it too difficult to lead the Wed night groups anymore and are asking to be taking off the rota. The reason for this is the behaviour of some people in the groups.
Problem behaviour reported to me includes people joining groups that they are too fast for and not modifying their pace, people running off in front of the leader, people at the front not mustering back to support the slower runners in the group, people causing offence by making patronising remarks to the leader or taking the mickey.
Please can I ask you all to remember that leading a group is a responsibility, and often quite a challenge for people who are not used to dealing with groups of people on a regular basis. Please can I ask that you show your leader more respect, or more people will vote with their feet and not do it anymore.
Rant over. Thank you!

Tues night speed
Also from Jayne ..... As some of you may be aware, I shall be out of action for the next couple of months, however Tuesday night speed will still continue through the summer.
This week we will have a guest leader, and after that Ginny will take over the whistle and will lead the group on a programme aimed at October marathons & half-marathons.
Usual time & place: Tuesdays, 5:45pm at Morrisons - all welcome!

Thunder 24 hour relay (tr24.co.uk)
From Paul Newman - This time next week and it will all be over, our two relay teams will have run for 24 hours non stop through the night, some will probably have run 18 miles others 24 miles in 24 hours.
If you guys are free could we all please meet up at The Nags for a quick drink on Wednesday after the run 8.30 ish we have some food supplies already plus spare camping facilities, but we could do with meeting up as the girls would like to pool resources for other essentials like bacon, sausage and alcohol etc..the ideal senario is that we all arrive at Catton Park together so that we can all camp in the same area, we can then also arrange car share etc . So if we meet at the Nags Head we can iron out the final arrangements.
Unfortunatley Alison has had to drop out, we therefore have a spare spot in one of the teams, if anybody fancies joining Lynda, Amanda, Jude, Roodie, Catriona Andy and myself please drop us a line either on paul@newman8840.fslife.co.uk or on Facebook, please be reasured we have entered this team for the experience and the crack, we aren't putting this team out to win it, just to have a good time and an enjoyable experience. So don't think you have to be a mega star runner to join us we would welcome anyone.
(If you'd like a crack at winning it the other MJ team is where its at !)

Minibus Transport
From Andy Milton - I am hiring a mini bus to take all those running the Bugatti 10k on 3rd August. Where practical we will do various pick up and drop off points. Please could all those wishing to use this transport e-mail me on themiltons4@hotmail.com stating a suitable place to be picked up from. Due to time restraints I'm afraid we can't do door to door and be on best behaviour as Mrs Sharpe is driving!
Reference the Cardiff half on the 16th October we will also be hiring a mini bus, however we will be leaving the day before (15th),staying over night in a back packers hostel and returning the following evening after the run. The numbers are increasing by the day so please all those who require accommodation and transport e mail me ASAP so we can finalise the bookings. The accommodation is the Nomad Hotel , very basic but £17 a head inc breakfast !! We will try and sort girls and boys seperate however they are 6 person rooms so be prepared to share with Roodie !!
Always a pleasure, Chuckles Tours !

Stolen Bike
Belonging to Jenny Field ....... Principia RS 60 road bike. Dark Blue. Much loved. Please let me Know if you see it. Thanks Jenny ..... jennifer.field@lineone.net

Group Leader Required
Amanda Duncan - Can anyone lead my 9.30min group on 3rd August from The Chase as I would like to do the Bugatti 10k? Email ... angusemilybob@yahoo.co.uk

Run Reports
Gloucester Half Marathon 24/7/11 by Chris Barker
This is an event which never sees many MJs and this was especially true this morning as I was the only one! The last two years it’s been held on a Saturday evening but today it was back to its old Sunday morning as the Saturday move didn’t prove as popular as thought. It’s a typical 13.1 road race along undulating country roads run on a tried and trusted route and is based at a school in Newent so the Gloucestershire Half might be a more fitting title. After doing a few similar events recently I was convinced I was going to be close to last year’s time but in the end finished four minutes slower in 1.56

ParkRun
This is the free-to-enter 5K that takes place every Saturday at 9am at the Countryside Centre, Nunnery Wood, Worcester. This Saturday just gone, there were 43 runners. The highest number so far of its 6 week existence. It’s taking off! Why not give it a go if you haven’t already done so?
www.parkrun.com

Vikki’s Sivertsen’s Booty Camp
From Vikki - As most of you know I am a fully qualified and insured Group Exercise Instructor and Personal Trainer. I am running a LADIES ONLY OUTDOOR CIRCUIT class every Wednesday morning in August, 9am–10am on Peachfield common....whatever the weather! Cost - £5 per session, pay as you go. Feel free to come and try just one session, or attend 2, 3, 4 or all 5. All females over the age of 16 are welcome, so tell your friends, girlfriends and wives.
Participants will need to arrive early to fill in a Par Q form.
After this trial period through August I shall take feedback from all participants and see what the demand is for regular sessions.
Find me on Facebook: Vikki FitnessMotivator Sivertsen, or Email vikksen@aol.com for more information.

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Wed 27/7 Club Run – Three Kings Inn, Hanley Castle
Sat & Sun 30&31/7 Adidas Thunder Run 24hr race
Wed 3/8 Cross-Country League - Shobdon
Wed 3/8 Bugatti 10K
Sun 7/8 Tenbury 10K
Sat 13/8 Stourbridge Stumble
Sun 14/8 Standish Woodland Chase
Wed 17/8 Club Handicap Event – Gullet car park, Castlemorton 7pm
Sun 4/9 Cheltenham Half Marathon
Sat 10/9 Apperley Quarter Marathon
Sat 1/10 May Hill Challenge
Sat 8/10 Beacon Race
Thu 13/10 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12
Sun 16/10 Amsterdam Marathon (see Roodie)

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 17 July 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Race Reports
Wyre Forest Half Marathon – July 10thby Lucy Prosser
Don’t you just ‘love’ it when people see your Joggers vest whilst you are panting your way up a hill and they say ‘ come on – you should be used to the hills’!!! Gggrrrrr
However - A Totally fantastic race. With an amazing result for me – I think I am finally finding my legs again!!! The race started with a mass start on a very nice long downhill – the downhill just kept going and going and I can run downhill very well, BUT I was thinking all the way down – there is going to be some serious ‘up’ in a minute – and I was right. There was a total climb of +1547ft and the race wound around the beautiful Wyre Forest, with Trees for protection from the sun in places, and scorching sun in others. The ground was hard, so most went for road shoes and it was a wise choice – I saw some feet that had worn trail shoes, and they were not pretty! I think The amazing feet web site will have a few new photos on its ‘foot shots’ page soon!
I knew I was having a good day and I made the most of it – at the start of Mile 10 I set my sights on a lady wearing a Totley AC running vest about 50m in front of me, by the end of mile 11, I was well past her and I over took another 3 ladies and 7 men on the way in and didn’t lose a place after that. I felt really strong, so obviously the endurance training is paying off.
Most of the race I was leap frogging with a chap from Stratford AC, we had some good banter and we kept each other motivated in the heat!
In summary – I would recommend this race to all – well organised and well marshalled assisted by a brilliant route. I was on the only Jogger there (that I could spot – and let’s face it we are easy to spot!!)
I managed to get 1st place in my category (F35) and 12th lady overall. The winning lady came in at a ridiculous 1:35 whilst I managed 1:57 so a big gap – but I am very, very happy regardless. The winning male managed 1:18 which I believe to be utterly absurd !!!!. Emma Gooderham won this race in 2007 in a time of 1:33 to put it all into perspective!
Overall race score : 10/10 (not biased at all by the way my legs worked)
Thanks, Lucy
Devil’s Chimney Chase 16/7/11 by Julie Caseley
This was a super 10k race with ideal running conditions starting at Old Pats Rugby Club in Cheltenham organised by Almost Athletes. The route takes you out of the field and around a housing estate before starting to climb up Leckhampton Hill. Then there’s a lovely fairly flat run along the crest of the hill (runners can be seen from race HQ) for about a mile before running back down some steep sections and through woods before re-entering the field and finishing with a lap of the field. It’s a very friendly race with great commentary and a t-shirt to all finishers. There’s also two children’s races, The ‘Stinger’ Mile for 10-15 year olds and the Little Devils fun run, and they all get a medal and a goody bag. Had a great race, finishing in 54:47 and winning my age category.
Thanks, Julie
Pitchcroft 10K 17/7/11 by Julie Caseley
The start and finish is in front of The Grandstand at Worcester Racecourse but before you can finish you have to
run 3 laps of a mind-numbing course.
It’s fast and flat on paved surfaces around the Pitchcroft boundary with PB potential but somehow it never seems to happen. There was a bit of a headwind along the back straight (that’s my excuse anyway!) so out of 7 times I’ve run this, I’ve only dipped under 50 mins. twice and today wasn’t one of them, finishing in 50:05. Well done to the fun runners who had to do ¾ of a lap (must have seemed like on long way with little legs!) and they all received a certificate - the 10k competitors received a medal.
Thanks, Julie
Swanage (Dorset)Half Marathon 17/7/11 by Chris Barker
I took my new tent down to Dorset this weekend for the above race (yes, I like living life ‘on the edge’)and I was pleased to find that it was waterproof. It was just as well as it was subjected to buckets of rain for a good 15 hours non-stop. The rain did stop before the race, and then it started again just before the start and continued throughout.
This is the third year on the trot in this one for me so I’m getting to know it quite well. Its starts on the seafront with the beach on your right hand side, it then goes inland to Corfe Castle (a big hill with a ruin on top of it).The finish is once again on the seafront where I was pleased to find that hundreds of spectators were still there and cheering by the time I arrived. I trundled in for a finishing time of 1.56.55 which is about a minute down on last year. It might sound a bit slow to some but it’s definitely not what you would call a PB course and it means I’m still avoiding the 2hr half.
The trophy’s were sponsored by Harlee’s Fish & Ship Shop (honest!) and was a paperweight, exactly what they have given out for the last three years so time for a change I’d say. Having finished the race you can always go and cool off in the sea but I didn’t fancy hyperthermia and I was wet through anyway, so I gave that one a miss.
If you fancy a running weekend away next year you might like to give this a try. There were 597 runners in total and I finished in 295th place. I’ll be there again next year.

Dunc’s Bacon Butty Run
From Dunc - If anyone needs a run to begin the summer hols with, I shall lead a 10 mile, mostly off-road run from Putley next Saturday, 23rd July.
I'll be outside Putley Village Hall (HR8 2QN) from 6:45 to start at 7am.
Butties and other nice things will be available afterwards.
Please let me know if you intend to come along for a gentle plod so that I have enough grub for you.
Cheers, Duncan 0777 400 8720 duncancresswell@btinternet.com

Circuit Training
Last winter the club arranged some ad-hoc circuit-training sessions at Malvern St. James Sports Hall.
These proved so popular that we thought members might be interested in a more regular series of session this coming winter.
We have provisionally agreed with Malvern St. James to hold sessions every fortnight on Thursday evenings from 13 October through to the end of March, making 13 sessions in all.
Sessions would be for 1 hour each, starting at 8:00 p.m. A small fee of £2:00 per session would be charged for each member (guests £2:50, subject to space being available). Alternatively, you could sign up in advance at a reduced fee of £20:00 for all 13 sessions
Before confirming the arrangements with MSJ we need to gauge the level of support from members, so would you please let us know by e-mail to geoff.field@lineone.net whether you would be likely to join in and if so, would you want to sign up for the whole series, or just pay for each session.

The Thunder 24 hour relay event is next month !! we have two 8 man teams currently entered, but there is still room for another ! Paul Newman says ....
What is TR24? Adidas Thunder Run is a 24 hour off-road relay race against the clock. Whether you run solo or in a team of 2-8 it'll test your tactics, endurance, speed and team work. It's an exhilarating, rewarding and tiring race with a great atmosphere. You'll find TR24 physically challenging and mentally tough but an experience not to be missed.
What to expect: You can set up camp either the The TR24 course is a 10km cross-country circuit set in the picturesque Staffordshire countryside. The track twists and turns across varied terrain so you'll find yourself running from bogs and forests to steep hills and open fields. Whether you're running through the night with a head torch or whilst the sun rises, there's always a change of scenery to keep you on your toes.
Facilities: The team from Science in Sport will be on site all weekend and our sports masseurs will be on hand for everyone (no fixed charges but a small donation would be appreciated).
For spectators and hungry runners our event caterer will be positioned trackside serving throughout the event
• 24 hour hot food & catering
• fully marshalled & signed course
• on-course water stations
• hot showers
• changing facilities
• free camping all weekend for
runners and spectators night before or the morning of the race to start soaking up the atmosphere. Once you're geared up, your first runner will assemble at the start line at 12pm and when the claxon goes, together you won't finish for 24 hours.
The rules: One team member must be on the course at all times during the 24hrs. Runners must complete one full 10km lap before changing over with a team mate but may run 2, 3 or more laps at a time before changeover. The team with the most laps completed when the clock stops after 24hrs will be the winner !
We need to start planning to make sure everyone has access to camping facillities, food and drink We also need the right kit, a few changes of running gear and head torches (Joggers on tour T shirts ??)! let the discussions begin ..
Cheers Paul ....... paul@newman8840.fslife.co.uk

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Wed 13/7 Club Run – Gullet Quarry car park, Castlemorton common
Sun 17/7 Pitchcroft 10K
Wed 20/7 Droitwich 10K
Wed 20/7 Cross-Country League - Westhope
Sun 24/7 Gloucester Half Marathon
Sat & Sun 30&31/7 Adidas Thunder Run 24hr race
Wed 3/8 Cross-Country League - Shobdon
Sun 7/8 Tenbury 10K
Wed 17/8 Club Handicap Event – Gullet car park, Castlemorton 7pm
Sat 10/9 Apperley Quarter Marathon
Sat 1/10 May Hill Challenge
Sat 8/10 Beacon Race
Thu 13/10 MJs Circuit Training- MSJ every Thursday until end of 03/12
Sun 16/10 Amsterdam Marathon (see Roodie)

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 10 July 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

Welcome to our new Treasurer
From Chairman Stuart ..... Following the resignation of Steve Ollis, we received only one nomination for the role of Treasurer. Accordingly, Jerry Greer was co-opted to the Committee at a meeting held on 27 June.
I would like to thank Steve for the sterling work he has put in on behalf of the club in the past years, and to welcome Jerry, who played such an important role in ensuring the success of this year's 10K race.
Steve hands over a healthy balance of Club funds, largely as a result of the growth in membership numbers and the success of the 10K race. Jerry's first job as Treasurer is to make a donation from the profits of this year's race to the Midlands Air Ambulance charity. Thanks Steve, and welcome Jerry
Stuart Brown, Chairman

From our Secretary Geoff.....
Race Entry Swapping
Following some concerns about the exchange of race entries, the Committee has drawn up a policy on transfers. Please try to comply with this policy in future if you have an entry which you cannot use.
Policy re Race Entry Transfers
From time to time, Joggers who have entered races are unable to compete on the day and wish to transfer their race entries to other runners.
Malvern Joggers Club believes this is an acceptable practice and would not wish to discourage members from swapping race entries.
However, we must recognise that entry swapping can cause problems for race organisers, not only in terms of results & prize-giving, but potentially with health and safety issues.
Malvern Joggers policy, therefore, is to comply with the race organiser’s conditions with regard to race entry swapping, in particular having due regard to the time limits imposed for race entry swapping.
The Club Newsletter will continue be used to advertise availability of transfers, but it is the responsibility of the original race entrant to ensure that the race organiser’s conditions of transfer are complied with and to notify the organiser of the transfer within the required timescales.
When organising its own races, the Club is committed to allowing entrants to swap their race entries with other runners within one hour of race start. Where the swap is made before race day, no charge will be made for swapping, but where the substitution is made on race day it will be treated as an entry on the day and subject to the appropriate surcharge. Where the substitute entrant is of lower status than the original entrant (i.e. affiliated/non-affiliated) the published surcharge will be payable.
Refunds for cancelled entries will not be given.
The Club will take every opportunity to encourage other race organisers to allow easy transfer of race entries.

Circuit Training
Also from Geoff ....Last winter the club arranged some ad-hoc circuit-training sessions at Malvern St. James Sports Hall.
These proved so popular that we thought members might be interested in a more regular series of session this coming winter.
We have provisionally agreed with Malvern St. James to hold sessions every fortnight on Thursday evenings from 13 October through to the end of March, making 13 sessions in all.
Sessions would be for 1 hour each, starting at 8:00 p.m. A small fee of £2:00 per session would be charged for each member (guests £2:50, subject to space being available). Alternatively, you could sign up in advance at a reduced fee of £20:00 for all 13 sessions
Before confirming the arrangements with MSJ we need to gauge the level of support from members, so would you please let us know by e-mail to geoff.field@lineone.net whether you would be likely to join in and if so, would you want to sign up for the whole series, or just pay for each session.

MJs Champions League News
Julie Caseley informs us that .... The two Championship League races in August are the Bugatti 10k Road Race on 3 August and the Stourbridge Stumble 10k on 13 August. The Bugatti entry form is now on the Cheltenham and County Harriers website.

BBQ Message - from Andy Milton
Many thanks to all who contributed to the BBQ, i will be bringing the containers and untensils back on Wednesday for you to collect after the run.

Race Reports
Herefordshire Off Road Summer League Race 2 Kinnersley by Richard Love
What an evening, the skies open and leaking horribly, 14 wet (a physical not personal description) joggers turned up to take part in the second race in this, misnamed, summer cross country series. The course was two laps of a gently undulating course mostly through cider orchards with a short forest section. The course itself was quite odd, the row upon row of similar apple trees was a little hypnotic and disorientating, but the two lap nature did help set a sensible pace, although not a scenic route its slightly surreal repetition was interesting (but I can wait a year before doing it again). I had set this one up as a bit of grudge match between me a Jon Green after I narrowly beat him two weeks ago, I thought a bit of healthy competition would drive us on. After a bit of cat and mouse Jon pulled ahead of me halfway round the second lap and I struggled to keep with him, damn, however I made a bit of ground on him before closing the gap to virtually nothing on a downhill section to give me just enough to take him on the final sprint by much less than the 2 seconds the results suggest. And our determined sprint set the tone for the other joggers, all of whom finished with a good sprint, many gaining a valuable place in the last 10m. On the day our 'A team' finished fourth but overall shifted up a place to be third in the series behind Croft Ambrey and Hereford, however the slightly irritatingly pace perfect Croft Ambrey B team is only a whisker behind us. Once again the joggers put on a good show for enjoyable competitive running - hats off to Croft Ambrey for their performance but I'd rather be a jogger - we have more fun.
Position Who Cat Time
15 Richard Love MV45 36.37
16 Jonathan Green MV50 36.39
20 Sam Burnage S.M. 37.14
21 Andrew Scott MV45 37.35
22 Nigel Sewell MV50 37.41
27 Andy Blannin MV40 38.09
43 Megz Judge ** S.F. 39.45
55 Jerry Greer MV50 40.37
63 Barry Swindells MV70 41.53
77 Paul Newman MV45 43.33
81 Wendy Holmes ** FV45 43.44
104 Laurence Wilson S.M. 46.06
105 Sophie Blandford ** S.F. 46.13
106 Julie Caseley ** FV50 46.32
Thanks, Rich

Worcester Parkrun 9/7/11 by Chris Barker
I was the latest MJ to try this new weekly event which takes place every Saturday morning at 9am at the Countryside Centre at Nunnery Wood in Worcester. The MJs had four runners in this last week but only me this week. They must have known I was going to do it! Half hour before the start it all looked very quiet and I thought have I got this right but one by one people appeared and in the end there was 21 runners, down on last week’s 30 but enough for a race. It’s free to take part but you have to register first on the Parkrun website and print off your own personal barcode. The event relies heavily on barcoding plus website, email and of course volunteers for it to be run.
It’s not the best course for a 5K. The other 5k’s I’ve done have been road races which makes comparing like for like a bit easier but as you can do this every Saturday there will be plenty of other 5Ks to compare it with.
I finished in 11th place and the results tell me I was the only MV60 so, an age category win then, and on a WAVA basis (performance in relation to age) I was rated 6th. All competitors have their own Parkrun page on the website which compares their individual runs. I can’t wait to do it again and add to my page.
All in all it’s a great concept and a tribute to those who have successfully got it up and running on a nationwide basis.
Want to find out more? Just google ‘parkrun ‘ and it’s all there. There are no prizes but it is free to enter.
Wenlock Olympic Society annual games by Vikki Sivertsen
Highlight of my running career to date! I was born and bred in the sleepy little town of Much Wenlock in Shropshire, birthplace of the modern day Olympic games (1850). Today was the 125th Olympian games to be held there and I had a smack down that had been planned for months in the 7 mile road race with two old school friends (both male) who were much faster than me at school 30 odd years ago. It was a tough course, with some steep climbs in the middle, but finished down hill with lovely little wooded bit at the end.
Result #1... I kicked both their a***s!
Result #2... I finished 3rd female over all.
Result #3....got interviewed by Reuters world press !!! (he didn’t need to ask many questions, I just kept talking!!)
Result #3...was awarded a fabulous Bronze Olympian medal, presented by VIP guest of honour David Ottley.
Result # 4...was also awarded a Silver Olympian medal for my age category, once again presented by Olympic medallist David Ottley.
Result # 5....a little podium to stand on to receive the awards !!
Got to catch up with family and friends too, absolutely crackin’ day, still beaming.
Thanks, Vikki
Evesham Vale 10K 10/7/11 by Julie Caseley
Well done to all Malvern Joggers who took part in the Evesham Vale 10k this morning when conditions were quite
warm. I enjoyed my run a lot better than last year which was reflected in my sub 50 minute time (or perhaps it
was because I didn't race the night before this year!!) Also, many thanks to Jayne and her Tuesday evening speed
sessions which helped enormously.
Congratulations to Emma Gooderham for being first lady and to Barry Swindells for winning his age category.
Thanks, Julie
Well done Gentle Joggers 10K Virgins – Evesham Vale 10K
From Jenny Field - Congratulations to the four first-timers who braved the heat this morning to run their first ever 10K race at Evesham.
Lisa Arnold finished first of the four, followed by Nicky Baker, Laura Williams and Annie Dendry.
Annie deserves a special mention as she only started running with the Gentle Joggers a few weeks ago.
Well done girls!

A Champions League Reminder
The next race is the Pitchcroft 10k on 17th July.

A Message to MJs from Up & Running (the running shop in Cheltenham)
Dear Malvern Joggers ..... This email is to make you aware of some exciting changes to the Up and Running website http://www.upandrunning.co.uk and the Cheltenham store page.
We have integrated the websales department and store pages of the current Up and Running site, in order to create a bigger, * much bigger* brand presence and to massively increase the number of people visiting the Up and Running website, associated 'partner's and the shops.
While we have been active on social media sites for several years, but we felt we wanted to bring in a wider audience and generate even more dialogue between Up and Running and the running and fitness community, therefore we have invested some time in developing our Facebook and Twitter profiles.
Below I have included links to our social media pages
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/UpAndRunningHQ
Twitter - http://twitter.com/upandrunninguk
Can you please look at the store page and confirm that we have the correct details for your website and address, and where appropriate the correct link. If we don't have a link then the question is - do you want one? Why not link to us - http://www.logos.upandrunning.co.uk
We would also ask at this time that if you also want to further involvement on line, then please 'like' our Facebook page or 'follow' us on Twitter. There is a lively debate going on, so come and join in. We intend to develop these debates, discussions, promotions and all aspects of running/ fitness related chat. In these tough economic times, together we can promote each other to a wide audience of people interested in fitness and running.
If you have any questions, feel free to email cheltenham@upandrunning.co.uk
Yours sincerely. Pete Hooper, Up and Running, 290 High Street, Cheltenham, GL50 3HQ, 01242 242789

Forthcoming Race
From the organiser’s ..... attached is the entry form for Kidderminster & Stourport A.C's 10k in September. The event also includes a 3.5k fun run and a new 3 mile walk event.
Please forward/circulate this flyer to all club members and anyone else who may be interested.
Many thanks, Matt Granger, Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Athletics Network Co-ordinator
Run in England Activator, 07597634304

The Thunder 24 hour relay event is next month !! we have two 8 man teams currently entered, but there is still room for another ! Paul Newman says ....
What is TR24? Adidas Thunder Run is a 24 hour off-road relay race against the clock. Whether you run solo or in a team of 2-8 it'll test your tactics, endurance, speed and team work. It's an exhilarating, rewarding and tiring race with a great atmosphere. You'll find TR24 physically challenging and mentally tough but an experience not to be missed.
What to expect: You can set up camp either the The TR24 course is a 10km cross-country circuit set in the picturesque Staffordshire countryside. The track twists and turns across varied terrain so you'll find yourself running from bogs and forests to steep hills and open fields. Whether you're running through the night with a head torch or whilst the sun rises, there's always a change of scenery to keep you on your toes.
Facilities: The team from Science in Sport will be on site all weekend and our sports masseurs will be on hand for everyone (no fixed charges but a small donation would be appreciated).
For spectators and hungry runners our event caterer will be positioned trackside serving throughout the event
• 24 hour hot food & catering
• fully marshalled & signed course
• on-course water stations
• hot showers
• changing facilities
• free camping all weekend for
runners and spectators night before or the morning of the race to start soaking up the atmosphere. Once you're geared up, your first runner will assemble at the start line at 12pm and when the claxon goes, together you won't finish for 24 hours.
The rules: One team member must be on the course at all times during the 24hrs. Runners must complete one full 10km lap before changing over with a team mate but may run 2, 3 or more laps at a time before changeover. The team with the most laps completed when the clock stops after 24hrs will be the winner !
We need to start planning to make sure everyone has access to camping facillities, food and drink We also need the right kit, a few changes of running gear and head torches (Joggers on tour T shirts ??)! let the discussions begin ..
Cheers Paul ....... paul@newman8840.fslife.co.uk

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Wed 13/7 Club Run - Old Bush, Callow End
Sun 17/7 Pitchcroft 10K
Wed 20/7 Droitwich 10K
Wed 20/7 Cross-Country League - Westhope
Sun 24/7 Gloucester Half Marathon
Sat & Sun 30&31/7 Adidas Thunder Run 24hr race
Wed 3/8 Cross-Country League - Shobdon
Sun 7/8 Tenbury 10K
Wed 17/8 Club Handicap Event – Gullet car park, Castlemorton 7pm
Sat 10/9 Apperley Quarter Marathon
Sat 1/10 May Hill Challenge
Sat 8/10 Beacon Race
Sun 16/10 Amsterdam Marathon (see Roodie)

Happy running, Chris

Chris's Blog from 03 July 2011

Dear Runners and Joggers,

BBQ Message
The Joggers BBQ will be held at the Chase Inn after the run (8pm).
Andy Milton says we now have enough people bringing salads etc and appreciate all the help.

Race Reports
boddington 50K, 26/6/11 by Emma Gooderham
Unlike the 10K, they had really geared the day up for the marathon and 50K as we had chip timing and were well looked after. The race however started at a ridicous time of 11.15 and with no shade on the 14 lap course on the hottest day of the year I knew it would be a challenge. The course is as flat as it can be and the loops made it more manageable, especially as a guy had put a hosepipe outside his house for us to cool down. I think without this I would not have finished. Lots dropped out but I managed to hold it together with pretty even pacing throughout, so much so my last mile was 6.49 and I averaged 6.50 throughout the whole 31 miles. I was the quickest including the men in the last 10 miles, I guess 100K has trained my muscles well. I finished in a PB of 3.32 and won the English title. I hope to now go to Holland in august to represent England in the World 50K.
Thanks, Emma
Portland 10, 3/7/11 by Chris Barker
That’s Portland in Dorset near Weymouth. Which is where I was this Sunday just gone, chilling out in my tent.
The race was first run in 1980 and consists of two laps. The first one is about 3 miles and goes around the town to make up an eventual 10 miles. The race is best remembered for the second lap which makes up the rest and goes to the tip of the mainland (Portland Bill) and as close as is possible to the lighthouse. There are some stunning views out into the English Channel and there was good support from the marshals including a ‘go on Malvern Joggers’ from one Mark Pittaway of the host club who has done our race at least twice in the past. The first lap is easy because it’s fairly flat. The second lap is a different story with a lengthy climb to the finish over the last three miles. As usual I tried to get somewhere near last year’s time and in the end was 45 seconds slower in 1.31.03 which gave me 86th place in a field of 132. The race memento was a Portland 10 towel which I have added to the two that I received the previous years.

From Paul Newman.....
As we are all very greatful to Kester I've said I'd get Chris to plug a series of talks he is putting on ..
An opportunity to meet Caballo Blanco (Micah True) , one of the central characters of the book "Born to Run" Micah will be giving talks around England during September 2011 - don't miss your chance to see him
Micah True lives in the Batopilas Canyon of the Sierra Madre in Mexico. Over the last decade he has been instrumental in encouraging the local trive Raramuri/Tarahumara to keep running which has always been a part of their traditional way of life.
(The Tarahumara are an indigineous tribe of mexicans who live in the canyons of the sierra madre, they have a legendary reputation for distance running great distances - 100 miles or more through the rugged canyons in homemade sandals)
Every year he organises the 50 mile Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon which sees the local runners compete against some of the worlds best ultra runners. The race is unique in many ways, not least that all competitors meeting the 13 hour cutoff win half a tonne of corn, helping competitors to feed their familiies at giving them a valid reason to jeep running. There is no entry fee for the race and few sponsors, it is run entirely on the local principle of "Korima" with anonymous voluntary donations.
Micah was thrown into the spotlight in 2009 when a book "Born to Run" featured his race and placed him as one of the central characters. The book spent several months in the NY Times best seller list throwing Micah into the public conciousness.
Micah works tirelessley to raise funds for the race and is an engaging and humble man.
________________________________________
The Presentation
Micah's talk will cover:
- what first brought him into ultrarunning
- his views on running styles, barefoot running and minimalist footwear
- meeting the Tarahumara in '94 at Leadville 100 mile race where they set the course record beating all the american runners.
- How he ended up in Copper Canyon living among the Tarahumara
- The Events leading up to the 2006 Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon (CCUM) featured in the book "Born to Run"
- What's happened with the CCUM since then
- The work he is doing with Norawas de Raramuri (the not for profit organisation he has established to support them)
His talk will be just over one hour with as much Q&A as required. He also has a short film of the 2009 CCUM that he will show as he gives his presentation. “
Kes is looking to put on a talk in Birmingham as well as Bristol you can get tickets from http://caballoblanco.weebly.com/buy-tickets.html
The Malvern Joggers 10k checkout this video footage of the race plus interviews with some of the runners including our new ladies Champion Mini Megz !
http://www.trackfieldandroad.tv/?v=smD7MPtBDvVgAnjNmmie5Q%3D%3D

A Champions League Reminder
The next two races are the Evesham Vale 10k on 10th July and the Pitchcroft 10k on 17th July.

Summer Running – Monthly Rota
1st Wednesday - The Chase Inn, Upper Colwall
2nd Wednesday - Old Hills car park, Callow End, (grid ref 831488)
3rd Wednesday - Gullet Quarry car park, Castlemorton Common (grid ref 766381) except 15/6/11- MJs Race
4th Wednesday - The 3 Kings at Hanley Castle
31st August only - The Drum and Monkey, head south out of Upton on Severn on the B4211 (grid ref 844392)
We are going to need leaders for the runs from all these places so please do some homework and prepare a route, ready to take a turn. Please speak to Jayne Ackroyd if you can help.

Coming up
Every Wednesday, 7pm
Every Sunday (sometimes Saturday), a club run or a race
Wed 6/7 Club run at The Chase Inn, Upper Colwall + BBQ after the run
Wed 6/7 Cross-Country League - Kinnersley
Sun 10/7 Evesham Vale 10K
Sun 17/7 Pitchcroft 10K
Wed 20/7 Droitwich 10K
Wed 20/7 Cross-Country League - Westhope
Sun 24/7 Gloucester Half Marathon
Sat & Sun 30&31/7 Adidas Thunder Run 24hr race
Wed 3/8 Cross-Country League - Shobdon
Sun 7/8 Tenbury 10K
Wed 17/8 Club Handicap Event – Gullet car park, Castlemorton 7pm
Sat 10/9 Apperley Quarter Marathon
Sat 1/10 May Hill Challenge
Sat 8/10 Beacon Race
Sun 16/10 Amsterdam Marathon (see Roodie)

Happy running, Chris

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