MEETING ON 9 NOV 2006

Present: Phil (chair), Dave, Dave, Dan (late, see below), Charles, Eric, Martin, Lin, John

Apologies: Guy ‘too much to do, you can cope’, Di (‘doing the Guide run‘, an event I forgot to mention under ’future events’ last month), Richard and Lesley (decorating)

Mysterious absence: Stanley (Wilfy believes Stanley and Guy may have eloped) or could Guy’s absence really be connected to the upcoming libel battle (see below)?

Although Dan attended, he arrived late and then interrupted the meeting to register his excitement about an obscure musician, unknown outside of the Cantrell household, who is apparently booked to play a gig at The Chalk.

Minutes are now being received by all members, though none of them are any the wiser

Herald - It seems that Guy’s latest offering in the parish organ, a series of pen portraits of club members, otherwise known as character assassinations, may have gone one step too far. Charles advised the meeting that he is instructing a solicitor in respect of the disparaging comments made by our Chair, something to do with a ‘pantomime dame’. Charles would not disclose the other phrases that have so wounded him, and sadly Wilfy had no copy of the Herald to hand, not wanting to be held liable for circulating inflammatory or defamatory material.

Whilst I was asking Wilf for a copy of the offensive samizdat, my notes were hijacked as follows: ‘Dave unwisely left the table and was immediately replaced by a proper secretary…’ Happily I soon regained control of the secretarial pen and the unreliability of these minutes was re-established.

NewTen - there will now be no t-shirts for the race helpers, as they cannot be retrieved form the psychiatric ward in Plymouth where they were sent by Runners Imp, in an understandable mix-up about the true nature of our happy band. When Phil questioned Runners Imp he got an earful about problems in the family. The loss of the t-shirts does provide an extra £58 for club funds, which was immediately earmarked for the fighting fund to combat the Le Vay libel case. The mention of money prompted the treasurer to get out his advanced financial gadgetry (the back of an envelope) to calculate the current balance - approx £352.

Past Events - readers of the club blog will already have marvelled at the efforts of our doughty team in the Parrett Trail relay. We took 45 minutes off last year’s time, and 27 minutes off last year’s winning time for the mixed category, but unfortunately everyone else got quicker too and we finished 3rd. It was a good day though, with a good finish at the Wynyard’s Gap. We are now eyeing up the Wessex Ridgeway relay next May. I shall now indulge in a spot of informal tabulation: (Ed's note: The Blog doesn't like informal tabulation so we've had to indulge in some formal untabulation (?) (Lin's note: Who the hell is Ed?)

Martin: Stagger 2.16.35; Stickler 1.17.27; Drogo 10 1.15.58; Street 5K 20.31
Lin: Stagger 2.31.23; Stickler 1.24.57; Drogo 10 1.20.55 ; Street 5K 20.31
Richard: Stagger 2.29.44; Stickler 1.22.31; Drogo 10 1.20.04; Dartmoor Vale Marathon 3.47.14
Lesley: Stickler 1.50.18; Drogo 10 1.46.29; Dartmoor Vale Marathon ret’d (knee)
Richard’s Dartmoor Vale time includes the now traditional delayed start, as he burst out of the toilets 2 minutes after the race began, like Superman out of a phone box.
Charles has done the Alton Downland Challenge, a multi-terrain 10K aimed at sapping the strength of the toughest Gurkha. Charles slipped from 1st to 2nd place in the Le Vay brothers annual grudge match.
Phil and Dave C did the Ilminster 10K, Phil in a PB of 40.35, Dave in 41.27.

Future Events - Colyton 10K on 19 Nov, Bicton Blister on 26th, Full Monty on 3 Dec, Street 5K on 13 Dec.

Drink Break - this month Lin and Martin had enough money for them each to have a drink, so the meeting was suspended whilst they recharged their glasses.

London - FLM have written asking for various pieces of information, which I have supplied. Charles, Lesley and Phil all entered the ballot, so are prime candidates for the club place. NB anyone interested in getting the club’s London entry should attend next month’s meeting, when it will be allocated.

Website - Much admiration for our new blogspot, and some surprise at the alacrity with which Martin turned this from an idea into reality - normally such things take months of aimless discussion before anything happens. More contributors would be good. Eric suggested a link to relevant sites for future events.

Christmas Dinner - no objections have been raised about the date, 20 Jan.

Pub Run - as all members will no doubt have seen on the club blog, Lin is suggesting a pub run from the Saxon Arms. We agreed a date and time of 7pm on weds 29 Nov, all welcome. The route is likely to involve 5 miles of running in the darkness, including a speedy section past a pack of aggressive dogs, and then the chance of a pub meal for those who return.

Correspondence - there has been an ample supply of material for Wilfy’s fire this month, including some glossy and vacuous publications from England Athletics. We have also had a letter explaining the new club affiliation charges, to help them pay for these pointless extravagances. If we have read their obscure and lifeless prose correctly, it seems that clubs will have to pay a flat rate of £50 + £5.00 per ‘competing athlete’. There was some discussion about the definition of a ‘competing athlete’ and a consensus that few of this species are to be found in Maiden Newton Runners. But if we have to pay for each club member, it will be expensive, and if only for those who enter races it could be divisive. Phil and Dave undertook to make more enquiries.

October Minutes

MAIDEN NEWTON RUNNERS - MINUTES OF MEETING ON 12 OCTOBER 2006

Present: Phil (chair), Stanley, Dave C, Derek, Richard, Lesley, Martin, Lin, Dave W, Pete, John, Dan, Eric,

Apologies: Guy (had something better to do), Charles, Jackie (after last month’s frosty welcome, she knows when she’s not wanted)

Minutes: it appears that the pearls of wit and wisdom, encapsulated in these monthly minutes, have been eluding a number of members. Back copies can be found in the British Library.

NewTen: still some life left in this topic. Runners Imp claim to have been thwarted in their attempt to deliver the T-shirts for our race helpers to a location in Plymouth. They then suggested that all 20 t-shirts have been safely despatched to an unspecified hospital. No doubt an entire psychiatric ward is now smartly kitted out.

Past Events. We had 8 members in the Sydling 5K, Martin (1st male), Lin (1st female), Phil, Ian, Di, Dan, Jackie, and Dave C. Dave W did the New Forest Marathon in 3.19 (came 7th in the Dorset County Marathon Championships). Dan did a 10K at an unspecified location in Oxfordshire. Eric moved house. Dave C has been spotted training with Crewkerne. Richard and Lesley have been busy as usual. They did the Isle of Wight Fell Running Weekend , which involves a 3 mile race on Saturday a.m., 7 miles on Sat p.m., and then 13 miles on Sunday a.m. Richard did them in 22.56 (1st MV50, £15 boots voucher), 1.08.48, and 1.48.28 (2nd MV50, £10 voucher). Lesley did them in 31.02, 1.35.54 and 2.32.52 - she came 2nd FV50 every time, getting a £10 voucher each time. Richard also won the overall MV50 category but did not get a medal as we are not affiliated to the Fell Running Association. Dave W to investigate cost of joining. They also did the Musbury castle 7.3 mile multi-terrain in 1.01.30 and 1.20.44, and Richard did the Honiton 12K in 51.12. Martin and Lin both did the New Forest half in 1.34.10 (Lin was 2nd female, Martin 3rd MV50), they did the Clarendon Way Marathon in 3.45.46 (a one-way route from Salisbury to Winchester), and they did the Street 5K in 21.11. Martin did the King Alfred’s Torment in 50.30, and Phil did it in 54.05. I make that a combined total of 27 events in the last month - Stanley never had this much to cope with when he was secretary!

Future Events. Next up is the Parrett Trail Relay on 14 Oct, with our team of Phil, Di, Ian, Lin, Martin and Dave W. The next day Richard and Lesley are doing the Dartmoor Vale Marathon, Lesley’s 1st marathon. The Gillingham Hilly and the Exmoor Stagger are on 22 Oct, the Studland Stampede and the Stickler are on 29 Oct, the Ilminster 10K and the Drogo 10 are on 5 November.

Drinks Break. Martin and Lin scraped together enough change to buy a pint, then we continued…

London. Martin has a good for age entry, Lesley and Phil have entered the ballot.

Members: Dave W asked about the club’s views on people joining if they are unlikely to attend meetings, so as to get cheaper race entry. We agreed that this is OK, though we would appreciate help on club events like the NewTen, we would ask for the annual fee for next year to be paid now, and we would continue to give preference over the London entry to regular meeting attenders. Phil has also heard of possible new members.

Website: Martin has set up a blog (http://maidennewtonrunningclub.blogspot.com) on which members can post items of interest or disrepute or both, eg embarrassing photos of Phil, details of coming training runs etc. Richard was worryingly keen to know if material would be censored in any way - Martin pointed out that this would be the window through which the world looked upon us.

Meeting closed at 8.52 pm.

Better than nothing!

This Blog is intended to fill the gap between the defunct old website and the wonderful new one that I am going to create when I ever find the time to get around to it.

Here are September's Minutes. I am going to find a better way of adding them to the blog than posting them, but here goes:

MAIDEN NEWTON RUNNERS -
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD 14.09.06

Present:

Guy, Stanley, Charles, John, Eric, Martin, Lin, Phil, Dan, Dave C, Dave W, Jackie, Derek

Apologies:

Charlie, Richard and Lesley, Di and Ian

Jackie was attending her 1st meeting, but was steadfastly ignored by the Chair who did not want to sully the club’s unfriendly image by offering any words of welcome.

NewTen.

We engaged in a spot of post-race analysis. The verdict: an unqualified success. All runners appeared to have enjoyed it, the organisation went well, and we have had good feedback, including on the Runners World website. Crewkerne did query both the Newness and the Madness of the race, but they only sent one runner so their views are to be ignored. We had a total of 152 entries, 70 of them on the night, and 142 finishers. Last year’s winning time, of 37.15, was smashed by nearly a minute, for a time of 36.19. There was an incident of one competitor smoking a fag as he ran up the hill back from Wraxall, blowing smoke in the faces of those behind. There was also a dubious incident involving a competitor of mature years from Yeovil, who either experienced a shorts malfunction or was getting carried away with the cucumber theme. Money-wise, we had £292.29 surplus after costs, we agreed to pocket £52.29 for club funds, and to give out the remaining £240 to 4 charities: Playgroup, Friends of Greenford, Joseph Weld and the Scouts. There were some suggestions of having a bar and barbecue after the race - agreed this would be something to be run by other people, eg Wilf or the school Friends. The prize-giving went smoothly, with the lardy cakes and cucumbers going down (or up) well. The meeting gave big thanks to Phil and Dave and their partners for all their excellent work.

Past Events.

9 club members did the NewTen: Nigel in 41.13, Lin and Martin in 45.40, Ian in 46.32, Richard and Lesley in 54.04 and 54.05, Charlie in 58.41, Jackie in 61.23 and Eric in 65.43. Lin and Martin also did the Race the Train in 2.02.34 (the train won), the Beast in 1.36.23 and 1.47.27, the Ash Excellent 8 in 57.01 and 62.06, and Yeovilton in 20.37 each. Phil did Yeovilton in 19.09. Lesley emailed to say that she and Richard had done the Where’s Tarka (c 9 miles) in 1.19.56 and 1.51.11, the Race the Train in 1.59.24 and 2.37.07, the Beast in 1.43.59 and 2.24.24, and the Seaton Half in 1.37.57 and 1.56.01. Lesley added some notes about Richard’s erratic behaviour - in the NewTen he spent much of the race running backwards, so that he fell over, cutting his hand and bruising his shoulder. At mile 9 of Race the Train he took his shorts off and ran with them in his hand - his story was that they were wet and wouldn’t stay up, but others think he was trying to distract the driver, or something worse. During the Tarka he insisted on running in dark glasses, including through the low tunnels, so that he cut his head on the roof then fell onto his bruised shoulder. Lesley, meanwhile, saw a severed head in the water….

Future Events.

New Forest Marathon and Half on 17/9, King Alfred’s Torment on 24/9 (cakes for finishers, unburnt), Autumn Downland Challenge 1 Oct for Charles and his Gurkhas, Sydling Fun Run on 8 Oct, Parrett Trail Relay on 14 Oct. Our team for the Parrett Trail is Phil, Ian, Di, Martin, Lin, Dave W. Richard and Lesley are planning to do the Isle of Wight Fell Running Weekend (an area renowned for its daunting and dangerous mountains) and the Musbury Castle.

London Entry.

Dave W has written off for the club entry application form, no reply so far. We agreed that anyone interested in taking the club place should also try to enter via the ballot. Correspondence. Dave read out a letter asking if we would be interested in contributing to a weekend to commemorate the second World War. The meeting was bemused.Stanley. As well as updating us on Arscott’s latest exploits, off to Spain on a quad-biking trip with Rees, Stanley received a series of texts from his daughter in Cheltenham, relaying questions from her pub quiz, including ‘Name the actor who plays Ron Weasly’, by which she meant, obviously, ‘Name the actress who plays Ron’s mother’.

AOB.

Christmas Do set for 20 January, same format as last year. Vests - Di and Jackie interested.